Living Arrows Sent Forth

Two of my ducklings left the nest today.  My oldest daughter for her 2nd mission trip, my 2nd daughter for her 1st mission trip.  I am proud of them for choosing to use part of their summer vacation in service to others and I am excited for them to learn and grow in the Spirit; discovering who they are as one of God's Beloved.  I am poignant because I know that each trip out from the nest is further and longer and one day my nest will be empty and quiet and this Mama will look around and wonder, "How did my babies grow?"  I hope and pray the answer that comes back to me is, "They grew in God and now they are off to serve His purpose."

Thanks be to God and traveling mercies on this mission trip.  Loving God embrace the missioners with a heart of service, embrace their partner families with an overwhelming sense of God in their midst, together may they share in the transformative work of the Spirit.

"And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."

And he said: Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable." 

--Kahlil Gibran

We Receive You

"We receive you into the household of God.  Confess the faith of Christ cruicified, proclaim his resurrection, and share with us in his eternal priesthood."  BCP pg 308 Holy Baptism

The Bishop is coming today to Baptize, Confirm, ReAffirm and Receive.  What a glorious Spirit filled day this shall be!  Blessings on your Sabbath.

What Are Your Symptoms?

Thanks to Rev. Deacon Mary Beth Emerson our question today is:

What Symptoms are you experiencing??

Bible Challenge Week 2

Our Diocese began the Bible Challenge on Pentecost Sunday.  We are currently in week two.  I am intrigued.  The thing I keep hearing the most from people is how much they are enjoying it and how they never noticed the relevance between the Old and New Testaments before.  The bible is my favorite book.  An amazing love story of a relentless God searching and calling out to His people to be in relationship with Him and these same people falling in and out of love with God; one minute running from Him the next running to Him.  Some people think this book is 2,000 years old and has nothing to do with their lives.  I think the Bible Challenge will "challenge" that thought!  It is relevant, the story - HIS story - is still speaking to us today, it is the Living Word of God.

The readings today are:
Reading: Genesis 28-30; Psalm 10; Matthew 10

and you can find the Meditation here.

The question before us today that intrigues me the most:

How might God be working through you – in spite of yourself?

I have blogged before on the Genesis readings - there is so much there to talk about, the love triangle of Jacob, Rachel and Leah; beloved sisters caught in love and ill used against one another; the lies men weave to gain an upper hand in power and money.  Today though the Matthew readings are sitting with me.  Again too much to unpack in one blog post but here is what caught my eye to meditate on:

The Mission of the Twelve

5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans,⁶but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.⁷As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”^*8Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,^* cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.⁹Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts,¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for labourers deserve their food.¹¹Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave.¹²As you enter the house, greet it.¹³If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.¹⁵Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town.

and we come back to the question:

How might God be working through you – in spite of yourself?

This portion of the Matthew 10 reading can be seen as our job description.  Go!  Go in peace to love and serve the Lord with whomever you meet on the path God has set you on.  Wherever in the world you find yourself today Proclaim the Good News!  Take nothing so that nothing can distract your attention from your holy work.  hmmm now that is where people often stop.  I wonder if this could be the piece that answers "in spite of yourself?"  What might be garnering more of our attention today than God?  What might be drawing our time, energy, money, heart and taking us further from proclaiming the Good News? 

How might God still be working through you - in spite of that challenge? 

Where is God still able to shine your Light?

Sign up here to take the Bible Challenge.

High School, Really?

Last night we attended the 8th grade promotion for my oldest daughter.  I have known this child is getting ready to go to High School.  It is a common subject in our house.  It is a new beginning for her, a first for us as parents and all the kids are intrigued by this place called "High School".  It seems so mysterious to them - kids there look very tall and old, kids there are babysitters, kids there drive cars and get to stay up until midnight!

Last night after the about the third time the principal said, "these teenagers begin their high school career" it hit me like I had thought about it for the first time.  My baby girl is going to High School!  Since she is officially a teenager she would cringe to hear me say it that way, but that is how I feel.  I can still recall the moment she was born with vivid images.  I can still feel how it felt to hold her with just one hand.  Now she is taller then me and moves with such grace.  She is beautiful and smart and witty and now I send her out into this crazy strange new world called High School.

I woke up this morning wanting to re-read the time Jesus got "lost" in the temple:

⁴¹ Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. ⁴² When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. ⁴³ After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. ⁴⁴ Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵ When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. ⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

⁴⁹ “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”^{[a] 50} But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁵¹ Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. ⁵² And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Luke 2:41-52

There is a lot we could unpack in this scripture but my focus this morning is Mary and her discovery of her son as a teenager finding his way, his faith, his mission.  He was probably taller than her too and we know He was filled with grace.  Do you know that this is the last time we hear of Jesus and Mary until Jesus is 30 years old?  The next time we encounter Jesus is at His baptism.  Do you ever wonder what happened between ages 13-30?  Do you think Mary locked him in his tent to keep him safe, a time out of sorts after his Jerusalem escapade?

Mary doesn't show us how to parent teenagers, how to make it through high school and the stress of tests and decisions about the future, broken hearts and lost sports games.  But she does give us one key that we can hold close and work with as we raise our own high schoolers. "But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.  And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."

As each day goes by in my children's life I find myself just like Mary treasuring moments in my heart.  Treasuring the glimpses of my children as Children of God.  Treasuring the moments when they want a hug from me and even treasuring the moments when they declare I have to drop them off at the movies and I can't join them because it would be too embarrassing to be seen with me.  No matter where they go or what they do, who they are or what they say, I have them in my heart.  They are the treasure in my heart and nothing, nothing can ever change that! 

Today I pray that our Loving God will protect these children He has given me to raise, to grow them in wisdom and in stature that they might find favor in His sight and forgiveness in his arms.  May they stay true to their hearts and faith by serving their fellow man with compassion and understanding, always seeking justice and sharing the Truth.  May I ever be astonished at the gifts God has given them as they use those gifts to glorify God.  Amen!

Bucket O' Blessings

This morning I am headed to a local homeless shelter for pregnant women, their newborn babies and toddlers.  A wonderful group of ladies is joining me and we are going to tackle cleaning the shelter house top to bottom.  It never ceases to amaze me how God provides the hands and in our case also the supplies.  An angel dropped by my house today and filled our Hope Chest with a bucket filled with cleaning supplies and a mop!

Today we do more than clean a shelter, today we bless a home for women and their children who are experiencing crisis.  Imagine yourself beginning your family alone and in a shelter instead of a home.  Today we bless this shelter home for the women God will send this way.  The women who right now might be discovering they are pregnant; who are preparing to leave a violent domestic situation so their children can grow up in peace instead of chaos; the women who thought they had someone who loved and supported them and found out suddenly they do not; the women who had a decent job and a place to live and then went on bed rest without health insurance; the women whose spouse died suddenly, tragically and/or unexpectedly and was the sole financial provider for the family. 

Today we bless this house as an altar in the world so that when these women come through the door they feel God's all encompassing and loving embrace surround them.  Cleaning may not seem like a blessing but I would ask you to challenge that thought.  Barbara Taylor Bradford writes about her experience of the sacred when cleaning a toilet in "Altar In The World" and I have on occasion shared my own story of the baptismal sacredness of doing the dishes for my family.

All moments in our life are sacred, each moment a gift from God,

to be enjoyed and blessed for the glory of God.

Please today, take a sacred moment and lift up a prayer to God for all women who are pregnant and/or new mothers who find themselves without a home and the resources to care for their children.  Pray in thanksgiving for new life and new hope.

"May God protect you from every danger you face.  May God give you the strength and courage to take failure, not as a measure of your worth, but as a chance for a new start.  May prosperity come your way, so that you are free from worry about food and drink, about home and shelter, but May you never be so caught up in material things that you forget that the essence of life lies not in possessions or money, but in love, and in God.  May you find fulfillment in whatever you choose to do.  May you use your talents to serve in the way that God intends you to, helping your fellow humans and walking in the light of God.  May you fully love and may you be fully loved.  May you be a source of light and inspiration to your family and friends, and may they be the same to you.  May you be forever comforted by a strong and enduring faith in God, who created you and who sustains your life." Amen!

(these are excerpts of a prayer written by Ms. Elizabeth K. Camp "Blessing for a Child" and published in the book "Women's Uncommon Prayers; our lives revealed, nurtured, celebrated".  Consult the book for a full version of this beautiful prayer.)

Faith and Work: Making A Connection

My question for you today is this: 

How does your faith inform your work? 

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,

as working for the Lord, not for men" 

Colossians 3:23 



Holy Goodness It's The Trinity

Today was my first day with my new congregation.  I was very excited to meet everyone and I am still very excited to get to spend time with them and get to know them and the work God is calling them into in this world.

As I was driving to Church I was praying and just thanking God for the drive and this new opportunity for ministry and listening to the song below.  The road I took used to be a dirt road through wooded area.  Today it is a paved road and getting enlarged more and more as new neighborhoods and shopping centers keep being developed.  But it is still tree filled and every now and then you capture a peak of the mountains in the distance.  I was praying for the Holy Spirit to be with me, to help me let people see less of me and more of Christ.

The Church is in the downtown area of a historic town.  I had the choice of turning down two different streets and I planned on passing the first one and turning onto the next one.  As I passed the first one I looked down the street just to make sure I had my bearings correct. 

Three deer stood in the middle of the street!  All standing with their heads close together and staring straight at me!  "Holy Goodness" is what I proclaimed!  I wanted to slam on the brakes and go in reverse so I could take a picture.  All I could think of was the Trinity!  It is Trinity Sunday and God just gave me a Trinity to witness.

I wonder this week how God will reveal the Trinity to you?

Thanks be to the One God: Creator, Redeemer, Life Giving Spirit!

Trinity:  "Mission is of the very essence of the God we know as Trinity, and like holiness, part of God’s very nature, not simply an attribute. God is a missionary God, a sending God. Just as the Father sent the Son and the Father and the Son sent the Spirit, so the Father, Son, and Spirit sends the Church into the world."   -Br. Kevin Hackett

Arms Wide Open

 Where Does the Temple Begin, Where Does It End?

by Mary Oliver (Why I Wake Early)

"There are things you can't reach.  But

you can reach out to them, and all day long.

The wind, the bird flying away.  The idea of God.

And it can keep you as busy as anything else, and happier.

The snake slides away; the fish jumps, like a little lily,

out of the water and back in; the goldfinches sing

     from the unreachable top of the tree.

I look; morning to night I am never done with looking.

Looking I mean not just standing around but standing around

     as though with your arms wide open.

And thinking:  maybe something will come, some

     shining coil of wind,

                         or a few leaves from any old tree--

                 they are all in this too.

And now I will tell you the truth.

Everything in the world

comes.

At least, closer.

And, cordially.

Like the nibbling, tinsel-eyed fish; the unlooping snake.

Like goldfinches, little dolls of gold

fluttering around the corner of the sky

of God, the blue air."

Take a moment today.  Stand there.  Open your arms wide. 

Reach out to the idea of God.

And tell me ... what whisper do you hear in the silence? 

Hear what the Spirit is saying....

Food & Faith: Breaking Bad

Mother's Day 2011 - I decided every Mother's Day I was going to break one bad habit.  A habit that was becoming something of an addiction and/or compulsion.  My faith tells me I need nothing in this world except God - so if I feel I need anything else during the day then I am making an idol out of something. 
My idol was Dt. Coke.  My addiction had become so bad that I was drinking 5-6 a day (at least).  My husband would find open cans in my car, kitchen, bedroom, office.  I would have them stashed in the Church office and in my purse.  I might have been on the verge of keeping a stocked mini-cooler in my van if God hadn't given me the idea to break free.

I went cold turkey - drank a ton of them on Mother's Day and then woke up Monday morning with a new resolve.  I knew the caffeine and chemicals were bad for me.  A doctor on TV one day - I am an avid fan of Dr. Oz and it was a guest of his - said "I tell my patients Soda is the Devil's Urine."  Now grab that visual and still chug one down!

Day 1 - I survived by sheer willpower and determination not to be broken on my first day!  Crying out, "God help me!".

Day 2 - I barely survived and only by praying out to God - "I am weak but you are strong, save me!"

Day 3 - I managed to walk around almost semi-human but only because I had to.  I remember texting my brother "I feel like a crack addict, this withdrawal is unbelievable, what is going on?"  I had a severe headache, I was lethargic, I was cranky beyond cranky, I even feel like I had the shakes and kept reaching for a can of dt. coke - just wanting to hear the pop of the tab, to listen to the fizz of the bubbles, to take that first glorious sip of straight chemical sugar!  My brother's reply was so... uhm... empathetic, "you are an addict to dt. coke, this is an addiction, listen to your body telling you."  Ugh!  Couldn't delude myself any longer and make flippant "I am addicted to dt.coke" remarks anymore.  Now it was real.  Prayer to God - unceasing!

Day 4 - I woke up alive!  And filled with Joy and energy and ready to conquer the world!  I could see clearly now, no dt. coke fuzzy filter!  ;-)

Today I am a year and about 18 days free from Dt. Coke.  Bad habit broken.  At first I replaced those physical cravings  with seltzer water - but I really didn't need that for more than 2 weeks.  It was true for me what some have said - after 21 days I didn't crave anymore and after 6 months I didn't even think about it anymore.  Now I don't drink any soda at all, green tea (the real stuff, brewed myself with no sugar or sweeteners) is my drink of choice along with water.  Isn't God so good?  God gave us water and tea leaves and go figure that drinking just those I feel amazing.  Even a cup of coffee every now and then reminds me that water is what I really want. 

Living Water - Jesus is the Living Water in our life and in our souls and when we thirst isn't our thirst really for God?  Breaking Bad with Dt. Coke gave me a new awareness and appreciation for the gift of water and made room in my life for the Spirit to move.  (I will leave for another post the alarming number of people in our world who do not have access to clean drinking water!)

This Mother's Day I gave up Fast Food Restaurants - I will NOT eat at any restaurant that has a drive-thru (and this includes their counterparts housed in a mall or rest stop area.)  I am 18 days free of Breaking Bad with Fast Food.  Amazing - I wonder if my veins have yet recovered from the salt and grease, probably need 18 months to work all that out of my system!  Drive Thru(s) had become my best friend in my crazy, living in my car some days schedule.  My first clue I was addicted was my kids saying, "NO, not again" and refusing to eat any fast food.  Let the little children teach us!

Breaking Bad with food addiction - could it be as simple (and complex) as allowing God to love us and loving God back?  Could it be as simple as realizing we are sacred beings housed in this unglamorous, often traitorous flesh?  The Holy Spirit is loving us and calling us, can we hear through the cacophony of physical cravings or denial of physical cravings?  Let's face it people are addicted with food on the full spectrum from anorexia and bulimia to binging and compulsive over-eating.  No matter where on the spectrum, it is obsessive thought with tangible food - when our thoughts should be focused on God.

Paul often uses the word "Beloved" when speaking to us.  Be Loved.  Be Love.  I wonder if we allowed ourselves to Be Loved by God which enables us to Be Love in the world - who would have time for food addiction?  Be"ing" Love is life altering and all consuming.

The question I ponder today is can we allow ourselves to Be Loved by our God?  It isn't a question of whether or not God loves us - We Are Loved!  The real question is can we accept that we are Loved, we are Love - can we wake up this morning, look into the mirror and say "Good Morning God!  Good Morning Love!  What shall we do together today?"

Beloved, Be Love today!

"For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you,

Do not fear; I will help you."  Isaiah 41:13