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Showing posts from 2012

"Working" on Christmas Eve

picture from churchart.com  Saturday afternoon my boyfriend and I finally decided what to get his nieces, sister, and brother-in-law for Christmas. I headed to the store to find the items (I’m not sure if his sister reads my blog so I won’t tell you what we got the family-but it is a cool family gift that they all will enjoy) . Any way- I made it to the store, found the gifts and a few other items I didn't even realize I needed, and headed to the check out. As the cashier was ringing up my purchases, we made casual conversation. I asked him if because he was working the Saturday before Christmas he had Christmas Eve off. “Thank God” he said in a disdainful tone, “I am off Christmas Eve, but my mom is making me go to church with her.” then quickly he said “What about you? Do you have to work Christmas Eve?” I chuckled and excitedly said “I do have to work Christmas Eve!” I must have been one of the few people who didn't answer with snark in their voice that they had to w

If You Want a Better...

Picture from Churchart.com  While I was in seminary I drove past the same church every day on my way to and from campus. For a short time their front marquee read “If you want a better Pastor…PRAY for the one you have.” Every time I drove past that sign I thought “duh, shouldn't people already be doing that? What a concept.” As I silently watched flipping from CNN.com to my Facebook news feed the words of that church sign scrolled through my mind: “If you want a better Pastor…Pray for the one you have.”   As I read words like “great…we’re screwed!” or “I’m moving out of the country, I can’t believe this happened.” As well as things like “Take that Romney-better luck NOT next time.” or “4 more years to ‘shut the other guys’ up- GO OBAMA!” (These are all paraphrased as not to call anyone out) .  In a country that seemingly prides itself on being Christian, can you tell me where in those statements Christ can be found? If when you wake up in the morning and lay

A Prayer for the week

"'Listen, Israel! Our God is God, the only God! You must love the Lord our God with all your heart, your spirit, your mind, and your strength.' The second is this: 'You must love everyone else like yourself.' No other commandments are greater than these." Loving God help me to live this week in ways that makes these words the Truth of who I am as you child. Amen Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Being Me

Sometimes it is hard to be me. I don't say that because, I have a terrible life or because I wish I had more of what I already have. I say it because at the depths of who I am (mind,body,spirit) it is hard to be me- a contemplative person in a chaotic and havoc stricken world.  It is hard to be me in a world that is always on the verge of something-bigger, better, more productive than yesterday. It is hard to be who you are when who you are is a person who does not always want to be on the verge of something bigger and better but wants to appreciate the now before moving onto “the next”. Plain and simple, it is hard. Every once in a while I try to be different than who I think I am. I try to move onto the next big thing before I have fully appreciated what it is I was doing before. I try to not care about people and things that are happening in society (because it would seem that caring about these things SLOWS down the next big thing). I try to do things that I see o

Falling Behind

picture from churchart.com Our best intentions sometimes leave us tired, worn out, and struggling to make everything “happen”. We intend to do this or do that, we make promises and then…it happens. LIFE, life happens and some of the promises and commitments we make fall further and further down on our “to do” list. We only do the essential, enough to get by and still feel like we have done something. It might not happen often but when it does it frustrates us, discourages us, and downright puts us in a mood that isn't pleasant for anyone. We live in a world of over commitment and little follow through. I (even on my best day) can attest to being very over committed to “stuff” and can sometimes do the minimum to “make it work”. If we are aware of this behavior, how is it we continue to fall prey to its vicious cycle? How do we get out of it? How to we stop over committing and therefore falling behind and still feel like we aren't lazy, worthless, or unimportant becau

Food For Thought

picture from churchart.com Ironically “food for thought” day falls on World Food Day, at least according to my church planning calendar. Did you wake up this morning with your stomach growling and think “I hope I find something to eat today.”?  Have you been preoccupied today thinking about where your next meal will come from? Are you kept awake at night praying about what your children during the summer when they aren’t in school for two meals a day? The reality is that perhaps some who read this blog can answer yes to one or all of the questions above. The other reality is that the rest of us can’t, even on our worst day, answer yes to the questions above. Food is bountiful and scant all at the same time. There are some who through food away by the plateful because they cannot fit anymore into their body and there are others who pray that they get to a restaurant dumpster before someone else. World Food Day- there is a website http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/ LOADED w

A Prayer for the Week

picture from churchart.com My prayer this week is not my own but is a song entitled “The Blessing” by Celtic Woman. I spent the day at a spiritual retreat center and this is the song that kept coming to my mind. I wanted to share it with you (whoever reads this blog) In the morning when you rise I bless the sun, I bless the skies I bless your lips, I bless your eyes My blessing goes with you In the night time when you sleep Oh, I bless you while a watch I keep As you lie in slumber deep My blessing goes with you   This is my prayer for you There for you, ever true Each every day for you In everything you do And when you come to me And hold me close to you I bless you And you bless me too When your weary heart is tired If the world would leave you uninspired When nothing more of love's desire My blessing goes with you   When the storms of life are strong When you're wounded, when you don't belong When

Food For Thought

Food for thought today is brought to you by my crazy dog Bartholomew  (that's him in the picture) He spends most  days sleeping on or under my bed. He has food and water in his bowls, treats of various kinds, and more toys than he know what to do with, you could say he lives a plush life (for the dog of a minister). His toys, I should tell you, are a mix of unstuffed squeaker animals, a big bone, and various plastic bottles, from the recycle bin . On days when lounging on the bed just isn't exciting enough, he will try to find something better to do. Explore the recycle bin (for a new bottle to chew on), move all his animals from the living room to the bedroom, or "bury" his big bone in the couch.   I can't tell you his process, because I'm rarely home when he decides to do these things. However, I know before I get through the door that he has done something he is proud of because he is waiting at the door when it opens. His excitement makes me smile ev

A Prayer for the Week

picture from churchart.com Unifying God, draw us closer to your Spirit this week that we might draw closer to you. Help us to see you everywhere we look. Help us to invite others to your welcome table so they can experience the love we know through you.   Grant us your grace today and always as we face the week to come. Amen.

Food For Thought- Sometimes...Not Always

Picture from churchart.com Sometimes but not always we need to let our brains shut out the stresses of life. I say sometimes but not always because never letting yourself become at least a little stressed is just as bad as being overly stressed all the time (at least in my book). Sometimes we need to take a step back. Sometimes we need to turn off our phones, our computers, and our television sets and just be. Sometimes we need to walk away. Sometimes we need to not think or plan or do but we just need to be. Now “just being” can sometimes but not always be just as stressful as all the stresses of life. Our mind wonders back to the things we shut off. We want to look at the text messages and phone calls we are ignoring, the Facebook updates we have missed, and the ridiculous commercials and reality TV we miss when we shut off and disconnect. We don’t want to just look at them we also want to respond. Sometimes not always maybe the world doesn’t need to hear/read what w

A Prayer for the Week

Abundant God, fill me with your joy this week. Help me to see your goodness all around me that I might share your joy with others. You alone O God are my strength and my peace. Grant me your grace that I might serve in your name. Amen Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

The Hymns We Sing

picture from churtart.com   We all have a favorite hymn or three. I would venture to say most of us don’t think about the theological significance of the hymns we sing. Even as a pastor, I don’t always think about all the words and what the implicitly or explicitly say when I pick hymns for Sunday morning worship. “Does the congregation know this one?” is often the first and last thought when picking most hymns. I wish it weren’t that way but it is what it is, I guess. There is such a great depth of wisdom and soul in hymns that is often overlooked especially when the hymn becomes so familiar that we sing it without thinking about the words.  Several years ago I was given a book entitled 101 Hymn Stories, as you can guess it has stories about 101 different hymns. These stories tell of the deep heartaches, overflowing blessings, and profound understanding of God in the author’s life. It is interesting to me that out of one person’s most unfathomable grief or abundant joy ca

Food for Thought-

picture from churchart.com What if we ACTUALLY spent time LIVING the way we have come to understand Jesus’ teachings in our lives and less time TALKING about why others don’t understand like we do? What if we spent more time SEEING Christ IN others and less time blindly searching for the “best” way TO BE the face of Christ TO others? What if we were so ALIVE in the Holy Spirit that no matter what we did people couldn’t help but know our faith is in something great than us? What if we STOPPED dreaming about the church of the past and STARTED living out the church of today? What if… You made your faith in Christ known to those around you What if… You spent just one hour every day seeing Christ in someone else What if… You let the Spirit of God move your life instead of trying to move it on your own What if… What if…

Prayer for the Week

Holy God, I stand before you wanting to serve but feeling unworthy to serve one as awesome as You. Help me, guide me, strengthen me that I might come to serve you more fully in every aspect of my life. Through praise, worship, service, and quiet meditation move through me that I might help others experience your love and compassion. This is my prayer- Amen. picture found on churchart.com  You are invited to use this prayer everyday this week if you wish in your personal devotions. If used in a group setting please make mention of where the prayer came from, don't claim it as your own. Thank you.

The Theology of Belonging

What does it mean to belong? We belong to families, circles of friends, clubs/organizations, churches, interest groups, secret societies, and most importantly we belong to God. We learn from an early age what it means to physically and emotionally belong or not belong. If you come from a close knit family that shows acceptance, care, patience, and above all love you probably have a pretty good idea what it means to belong. If growing you were different from the other kids and never fit in the “in” crowd, never got picked first in gym class, always had less valentines (even though everyone was supposed to bring one for everyone), and never felt accepted for who you were, you might have a good idea what it means to not belong. If it was always easy for you to belong and then you have trouble finding a place to fit in you might wonder what is wrong with you. If you never felt like you belonged and now you have found your place you might always be waiting for someone to come and say “sorr

Food for Thought- Satisfied?

picture found on churchart.com When I was a student at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio I was a Resident Assistant. Every year during our fall training we would be given countless pieces of paper and other resources with ideas and suggestions on how to help the students in our building become the best students they could be during their time at MUC. During training my junior year we were given resources that focused was self-care, priorities, and life-skills popular college campus topics. One of the resources we received was a teal colored piece of paper; on the top of the paper in big bold letters it says “HOW TO BE HAPPY” . The rest of the page consists of 16 bullet points of ideas on how to achieve this happiness. Well really 15 and 1 blank space for you to add your own idea. When you read this list it can be over whelming. Some of the ideas are not easy for example one I found difficult then and continue to struggle with now is “develop a life purpose; give back to our

A Prayer for the Week 09.16.2012

O God, like the psalmist let me sing of your steadfast love.  Let my mouth proclaim your faithfulness and love through all generations (Psalm 89:1-2). pause for a moment of silence  As I work this week to live into the person you have called me to be, I pray for your guidance and grace. Even when I don’t deserve it God, you wrap your arms around me and envelop me with your love. pause to feel God's embrace I often neglect to say even a simple ‘thank you’.  SAY IT NOW, ALOUD-  THANK YOU GOD! I ask your mercy and forgiveness.  As I try this week to reflect your image to the world,  help me first to be mindful of what I have been blessed with so I might be a blessing to others.  When I struggle to show your love to others, show your understanding and grace by nudging me back to you. pause now to feel God nudging you today This is my prayer- hear my prayer. Amen. picture found on churchart.com  You are invited to use this prayer everyday this week if you wish

Theological Thursday- What Does It Mean?

What does it mean to be a theologian? Being a theologian is part of being a Christian. Don’t let that frighten you. Before I started seminary Lexington Theological Seminary sent me a book, How to Think Theologically. Every incoming student was supposed to read it before arriving on campus for orientation. If I remember correctly some parts of this book were easier to read and understand than others. Within the ten page introduction of this book the authors outline basic thoughts about theology, the church, and the Christian faith. What has stuck with me from this book is that no matter who you are, clergy, lay person, someone new to the faith, someone who can’t even remember how long they have believed, this book reassures even the most doubtful among us that you- yes even you are a theologian. Like I said before don’t be frightened by that thought, but empowered that you are able to hold such an advantageous title! To be a theologian you do not have to develop a theory about t

The Start of Something New

After a long conversation with a friend and colleague in ministry I had the revelation that I am the only thing stopping me from blogging on a more regular basis. I am the one who comes up with reasons why I don’t have time, energy, or ideas to write about.    When I think about it, none of those things are true. I have time -- I just find other things to do, like waste time on Facebook; I have the energy -- I just expend it on other things, like reorganizing the piles of papers on my desk; and I have ideas -- I just always seem to convince myself that no one else would want to read them.   This is why it is good to have friends!   They are able to convince you, when you start down the "woe is me" path that no one cares what you have to say, that you are only holding yourself back.  They remind you that if you only have conversations with yourself you will never know if others agree with you. They share with you times when your insight and ideas have changed them for t

Vacation Time for God?!?

Several years ago a friend and I started playing a game to see who could find the best/worst messages on church signs. There were really good messages like; “Don’t drive faster than your guardian angel can fly” which was appropriately placed on a little church sign on a windy, country road known for fatal accidents due to excessive speed. There were also some messages like; “Our Pastor’s hot…The high today in Hawaii is 102” I have no idea what provoked that message. Shortly after our game began, my friend found a calendar of daily church sign messages, which she gave me for Christmas. One message from that calendar that sticks out in my mind as summer approaches reads, “God has NOT gone on vacation and left YOU in charge!”  Do you feel as if God has gone on vacation and left you to deal with weight of the world’s problems, or at least your family’s or the church’s problems alone? I wonder if Peter and the other disciples felt that way after Jesus’ death. Even though he had appea

Is This Love?

I don't follow politics as much as I should... but I have been following, entirely second hand, what happened in North Carolina and President Obama’s statement supporting same-sex marriage and I wonder…how did we get here? I am in the midst of working on my sermon for Sunday and I don’t know where to go because I don’t know how we got here. Maybe you are asking “where is here?” Here May 11, 2012 in a society that feels like total anarchy. 236 years ago (give or take) some people who were feeling oppressed and alienated sought to make a better life where it would be understood that ALL were created equal. Of course that first claim came with underlying unspoken exceptions- ALL were created equal- except women, children, people of different skin tone, and more recently people who define and qualify love differently than others. I admittedly do not know much more than I did as a senior in high school about politics. Political Science was a classed I HAD to take in order to gra

Sit, Pray, and Then Rearrange…

Every few months I rearrange a room in my life. I say “in my life” and not “in my house” because sometimes the room that gets rearranged is my office at the church or my boyfriend’s house (when he isn’t paying attention). I will be the first to say that change for the sake of change is not worth the effort and some look at rearranging furniture as just that, change for the sake of change. You can ask just about anyone who has known me for any amount of time (over a year) that this is what I do. When I was younger I would rearrange my bedroom at least every 6 weeks or so. My first job as a lifeguard, I rearranged the staff break room every few months, I rearranged the boss’ office once (he was not real happy at first… but realized he was more productive after I put things in “a new light”.) When I was in college I rearranged my dorm room almost every time I was on duty as an RA. In seminary, well you get the idea. When you move even one thing in a room to a new location, it changes ev

T.G.I.F- A Good Friday Prayer

Thank you for what this day means to Christians around the world. A day (which doesn't seem even close to enough time) to remember and reflect upon what you have done for each of us. God ,you know when we falter. You know how to bring us back to you again. It's your love and grace that draws us back to you. Wrap us in your embrace forever. This Friday is not the only day, O God, we should acknowledge your mercy outwardly.  Amen.