Hearing From God in Walmart

"Give us this day our daily bread."

Matthew 6:11

When praying for 'daily bread' becomes a personal reality you learn to be a good listener. Several years ago my family and I were involved in a 'faith-based' ministry (another way of saying the pay comes from God's hand). Many days our son would ask, "What's for dinner?" My wife would say, "Whatever God provides." We never missed a meal. One day my wife made a grocery list. She placed it on the kitchen counter and said, out loud, "Lord, this is what we need. I'm asking You for it." Later that day, we returned home to find 14 grocery bags on our front porch. Everything from my wife's list was there, and, items not on the list like cookies and ice cream (it hadn't melted). I guess God cares about dessert.

On grocery expeditions I try to be Spirit-led, praying while walking between aisles of food. Today I was in Walmart and I asked, "Lord, what can I get today?" My current funds were limited, so I knew His response would be short. I heard 'milk and sugar.' Now, I know some of you reading this will be rolling your eyes at this point. "Come on, Mike. The voice of God in Walmart?! Maybe in the Middle East or a burning building!" As I said, praying for daily bread is a personal reality for my family. Interesting thing about 'daily bread'- it's daily. We Americans prefer 'monthly', stockpiled, pantry-filled bread. The 'what I want when I want it' bread. When the cupboard is bare we worry. The issue for me is one of trust. Do I trust (believe) that God loves me? 

I love hearing music performed live. My son and I have been to a few amazing performances in the past few months and every time there is a moment I look for- the look of knowing. It is a look exchanged across the stage between musicians, followed with a brief smile. The look of knowing says, "That's it! Well done." I believe God has a look of knowing when we pray, from the heart, "Give us this day our daily bread."

Psalm 19
Roz Dimon
Click here for a beautiful interaction with Psalm 19

Moments of Beauty

"Artists of the world, may your different paths all lead to that infinite Ocean of beauty where wonder becomes awe, exhilaration, unspeakable joy."
Pope John Paul II
Letter To Artists
1999

There was in the Art Room today
a moment of complete and total silence. It happened during fifth period. I looked up from my work to see a classroom of high school students working, silently immersed in the process of picture making. It was a moment of beauty.

Google Results for beauty


Moments of beauty abound. I understand what it means 'to teach'. Well, at least most of the time. I feel right, true in design, when I am teaching. For me, teaching is a series of beautiful moments, and the most beautiful is the 'aha' moment. Every true teacher lives for the 'aha', the exclamatory-  εὕρηκα (I have discovered it)! Good teachers know that the 'aha' is reciprocal. Here are a few personal 'aha' moments I was recently blessed by:

The Lion, The Sheep and The Fire

Acrylic on paper

My wife was visiting a friend and one of the children, a five-year-old, was painting. When the friend's daughter finished, she presented the painting to my wife. It is amazing.  With economy of stroke the child rendered a lion leading sheep though a fire. Picasso said, "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." I am looking at the painting now, it hangs in our kitchen, and the words of Jesus speak to my Soul, "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."

Backwards Logic

Cyanotype Proof

Christopher Shreve

One of my students has been working/ruminating on an art project for months. He will tell you, as he has me on numerous occasions, "I can't do art." He and I have shared hours of conversation, on a variety of topics, and I know that his mind yearns for logical order. One day I asked, "Do you know of the unsolved proofs?" This question began a new series of conversations, culminating in a printmaking project appropriately titled- Backwards Logic. I watched him today as he carefully arranged layers of formulas, screen printed on vellum, in a precise pattern. It was a moment of beauty. It was art.

Jamie Morgan - Enamored from Shutter Down on Vimeo.


Another moment of beauty occurred this morning before school. Teresa and I attended the Twenty Fourth Annual YMCA Community Prayer Breakfast. The speaker was James Morgan, President and CEO of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. He shared his heart, the heart of a father, with 2.200 people in the Grand Ballroom of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. His sincerity and humility ministered to me. Then he introduced his son, Jamie, to the crowd. It was a beautiful moment. Jamie spoke and sang with an honesty that is refreshing, and again, it was a moment of beauty.


To hear more of Jamie Morgan's music click here.


I think, however, today's top 'aha' award goes to a colleague- Amy McNelis. Today is recognized as the National Day of Prayer and she led some of the students in a group prayer.
Thank you, Amy, for that moment of beauty.