Braving The Waters

picture found through google image search How do you pray? This might seem like a silly question to some. It might be extremely difficult for others. It might be a question that has never or rarely entered your mind. So take a minute (or 2 or 3 or…) and think about it- How do you pray? Do you sit in the silence of the morning before everyone else in your family is awake or maybe the quiet of the evening when they have all gone to bed? Do you curl up with your Bible and your favorite praise CD or pick up your journal and head for a secluded place that no one knows but you? Do you stand at the sink praying something new with each dish that you wash or maybe with each step on the treadmill you utter your words to God? When I was little, early elementary age, I prayed by repeating after whichever person had the honor of teaching my unruly Sunday school class or by folding my hands when we were at the table waiting for my mom or dad to say ‘amen’ so we could eat. As I got ...

from churchart.com  Do you ever see someone doing something or hear someone say something and think “seriously…why. Why would you do that or say that…?” Do you ever wonder how some people have made it to where they are in life? Do you ever question how you have made it to where you are in life? Do you ever wish that you could change someone else’s attitude or thought process? Do you ever wonder how things would be if you had done one thing differently 5 or maybe 10 years ago? Just this morning I think almost all of these questions passed through my mind. What is that I hear from you, is that a resounding YES! Glad to know I am not alone. What are other things you wonder about? I wonder how my life would be different if I hadn't listened to the voices of those around me saying that I should explore the idea of vocational ministry. I wonder where I would be if I had, in my stubborn nature, continued on my way to become a band/choir director. I ...

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 th...

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 w...

"'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

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...

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 unimpo...