CS Heinz | Passionate About Prayer

Going Away For Awhile

CS Heinz — February 27, 2014 — Leave a comment

I know I left you on the side of a cliff with my last post, but I’m going away for awhile. You’ll have to hang there longer.

In the seven years that I’ve been writing a (mostly) weekly post, I’ve only taken off two or three times. I think I’ve earned it.

I’m not taking a break because I’m tired of writing, have fallen into moral discord, don’t like you, or have forgotten how to type. I just need a break in order to listen.

God is acting upon me and I want to soak before I try to package it for others. Know what I mean?

Perhaps I’ll be back after I speak at the Catalyst Training Conference in April. In the mean time, chew on this:

In Uncategorized

3 Little Words to Save Your Life: Part 1

CS Heinz — February 13, 2014 — 1 Comment

Panic crashing on me, I awoke when it was still dark outside. My heart beats thundered through my veins, I could feel them speeding up and getting heavier. Slow down, breathe, find peace. I practiced the normal tactics in times like this—tried breathing slower, tried to think a happy thought, tried to pray. But nothing worked—I was a wreck.

I went downstairs and lay on the couch in my office. Why was I so anxious?

I took account of my life. At first glance, I had nothing to worry about. I had a great wife, three cute kids, a job that fit me, a home, food, clothes, etc. Having spent time in third world countries recently, I knew how difficult life could be for people. Compared to my friend who lives in the slums of Manila or my friend who feeds orphans in Myanmar or my friend who became a widow in Sri Lanka, I had it pretty easy.

God, why am I such a baby?

In Presence of God

My Massage With Al Pacino: 5 Steps to Worry-Free Living

CS Heinz — January 31, 2014 — 3 Comments

A few years ago, my family went on vacation to a resort hotel that offered massages. My wife said I should get one, so I made an appointment.

“Your massage will be with Al Pacino,” the scheduler said.

“With whom?” I asked.

“With Al Pacino.”

“That’s who I thought you said.”

My heart skipped a beat. A massage with The Godfather? This was not the vacation I had signed up for. My mind tripped into WORRY mode. What had I gotten myself into? I was on pins and needles waiting for my appointment.

In Power

The Most Important Conversation of Your Life [Prayer Breakfast]

CS Heinz — January 22, 2014 — Leave a comment

The following is my talk from the prayer breakfast at Cenergistic’s National Training Conference on January 21, 2014. Cenergistic is an energy conservation company that partners with our company, EnergyCAP, Inc.

A shocking thing happened this past Christmas Day, but it can revive the most important conversation of your life.

About a month ago, I began feeling pain in my chest. At first it felt like a pulled muscle, tightness, like a rubber band being asked to stretch beyond its capacity. It was irritating, so I took aspirin and did my best to ignore it. I went to work, did last minute Christmas shopping, attended the Christmas Eve service and had Christmas Day at home.

In Prayer

When You Pray…

CS Heinz — January 21, 2014 — Leave a comment

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10 Good Things About My Blood Clot

CS Heinz — December 30, 2013 — 16 Comments

On Christmas Day, I went to the emergency room with pain in my left chest and trouble breathing. After a series of scans and blood tests, the doctors concluded I had a blood clot in my left lung. Officially it’s called a pulmonary embolism.

“So I won’t be going home tonight?” I asked.

The doctor’s serious, I-know-more-than-you look on his face answered the question.

Apparently a pulmonary embolism is serious. Each year 60,0000 – 100,000 people die from it and it calls for lifestyle changes and regular monitoring. Oh Chauncely, please fetch my luggage and bring it to my room, we’re going to be here for awhile.

Since checking in, I’ve been plucked, prodded, CT-scanned, MRI-ed, ultrasounded, medicated, IVed, examined. It’s a little more than my family and I wanted for Christmas. I’m not home yet, but hoping to go home soon, once my INR number reaches 2.5. The INR is how fast the blood clots and through blood thinners, they’re raising mine, which at last check was 1.4.

But this experience hasn’t been all bad. Here are 10 good things about my blood clot:

In Power

Part 3: How We’re Like Herod

CS Heinz — December 18, 2013 — 2 Comments

This Christmas series is based on a quote by Frederick Buechner about the parable of the Good Samaritan:

Is the point of Jesus’ stories that they point to the truth about you and me and our stories? We are the ones who have been mugged, and we are also the ones who pass by pretending we didn’t notice. Hard as it is to believe, maybe every once in a while we are even the ones who pay an arm and a leg to help.
And perhaps sometimes we are the ones in the Christmas story. That’s what this series is about.

It’s not a nice feeling this Christmas to think we’re like Herod. Well, not if you know what he did.

We’d rather be like Zechariah or Mary—heroes who overcame doubt and fear to walk in faithfulness.

Here are some things about him:

Herod was Jewish
He was King of Judea for 33 years
He was ruthlessly protective of his position
When I say he was ruthlessly protective, I mean he stopped at nothing to preserve his position, killing proven dissenters, suspected dissenters, and even members of his own family. Herod killed his wife and brother-in-law.

He’s the natural enemy in the Christmas story.

But maybe we’re more like Herod than we care to admit. And maybe having a nice Christmas feeling isn’t all God wants to give us this year.

In Presence of God

Part 2: How We’re Like Mary

CS Heinz — December 10, 2013 — 2 Comments

This Christmas series is based on a quote by Frederick Buechner about the parable of the Good Samaritan:

After we meet Zechariah and Elizabeth, we meet another character—Mary. Mary is one of the key characters of the Christmas story.

Some facts about her:

Mary was young, probably a teenager.
She was pledged to marry Joseph.
She was a virgin.
The angel who visited Zechariah with surprising news (understatement) of their impending AARP birth, visited Mary with news of her own.

In Presence of God

Part 1: How We’re Like Zechariah

CS Heinz — December 3, 2013 — 4 Comments

This Christmas series is based on a quote by Frederick Buechner about the parable of the Good Samaritan:

Zechariah is one of the first people we meet in the Christmas story in the book of Luke. To understand Zechariah, you should know some things:

Zechariah was a priest.
He was married to Elizabeth.
They were old.
Elizabeth was barren, so they had no children.
One day the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah with surprising news: they will have a son, whom they will name John (as in John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus).

Have a son in their old age? Zechariah was incredulous. But we can’t blame him. For years they had prayed for a child. They had watched their friends have children, but there was no bun in the oven for them. They grew loose and wrinkly, what happens when years have their way.

And all of a sudden

In Presence of God