Tonight I am going to an event at the newly refurbished, Café Rouge, Edinburgh. I am looking forward to enjoying some food and wine in Parisian Café in the heart of Edinburgh at the end of today's stint in the office. The newly refurbished venue is hosting a tasting event tonight so I will tasting their new menu's selection of food and drink.
Sounds like a good way to end the day.
http://www.caferouge.com/locations/edinburgh
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Monday, October 5, 2015
No bad self talk
My mantra for this year was pretty straightforward:
No bad self-talk.
Straightforward enough, one might say, but apparently I found this one rather hard. If I talked about someone else the way I far too frequently refer to myself, I would be pulled aside by someone wise (hopefully) and discerning and told to not speak about a human being that way - ever.
We are now into the final quarter of the year and I am attempting to make it through a day without using demeaning language or some negative adjective. I am getting better at catching myself before the thought thinks me and pronounces it's judgment and instead I am being kinder and, probably more truthful.
As I said, pretty straightforward.
No bad self-talk.
Straightforward enough, one might say, but apparently I found this one rather hard. If I talked about someone else the way I far too frequently refer to myself, I would be pulled aside by someone wise (hopefully) and discerning and told to not speak about a human being that way - ever.
We are now into the final quarter of the year and I am attempting to make it through a day without using demeaning language or some negative adjective. I am getting better at catching myself before the thought thinks me and pronounces it's judgment and instead I am being kinder and, probably more truthful.
As I said, pretty straightforward.
Monday, June 1, 2015
I nearly bought a book today
I nearly bought a book while browsing in Waterstones, one of the the only bookstores left in the UK with retail outlets. It's a rare day when in town that I do not seek out one of the company's stores. The founder of Waterstones wanted to provide a place where people would not only buy books, but would also feel welcome to stay in the store for as long as they cared to do. This practice was encouraged by scattering comfy chairs throughout the store. We were there to linger and could take our time in choosing our potential purchases; it's not just some whimsical romantic idea that we can let go of the gas pedal in our lives to lose ourselves in someone else's words. (Starbucks' founder convinced us to do the same with coffee). I have yet to become an owner of a e-reading device and when I do, I will most probably still love the paper copies: the feel of the pages in my hands as well as the weight of the book moving from right to left.
Part of why I love books and bookstores is they remind me of my dad. He loved reading and good writing and usually always bought books he wanted. He rarely thought about going to the library and checking out something he would likely only read one time. Perhaps it was a throw back to his childhood days when the library was a treasure house of imagination and discovery and now as a grown up, he could put away those things of childhood. One of his dreams was to have a room lined with bookshelves where every book in the house was in one easily accessible place. That didn't happen.
Before I moved across the ocean I had shelves lined with books on many subjects: novels, historical, informational, musical and theological. Most of them have long since found new homes having been discarded as unnecessary baggage. That's what comes when one moves over 15 times in 9 years. To nuance a popular phrase, I am learning the art of living lightly; living with less and therefore buying less. I am grateful that Waterstones allows me to dawdle in their stores and make good use of their comfy chairs - and good coffee shop - to check out the latest good writing and writers.
Living lightly at this time in my life is only possible because I have realized I need far less than my buying capacity can potentially fund. If I have been able to give away so many of my belongings or live without those which I stored, I don't need most of what I can buy. I have the choice, that's for sure, but I am far more aware that a more careful and thoughtful re-routing of my resources will mean greater freedom for future purposes; and I am not just talking about books.
Part of why I love books and bookstores is they remind me of my dad. He loved reading and good writing and usually always bought books he wanted. He rarely thought about going to the library and checking out something he would likely only read one time. Perhaps it was a throw back to his childhood days when the library was a treasure house of imagination and discovery and now as a grown up, he could put away those things of childhood. One of his dreams was to have a room lined with bookshelves where every book in the house was in one easily accessible place. That didn't happen.
Before I moved across the ocean I had shelves lined with books on many subjects: novels, historical, informational, musical and theological. Most of them have long since found new homes having been discarded as unnecessary baggage. That's what comes when one moves over 15 times in 9 years. To nuance a popular phrase, I am learning the art of living lightly; living with less and therefore buying less. I am grateful that Waterstones allows me to dawdle in their stores and make good use of their comfy chairs - and good coffee shop - to check out the latest good writing and writers.
Living lightly at this time in my life is only possible because I have realized I need far less than my buying capacity can potentially fund. If I have been able to give away so many of my belongings or live without those which I stored, I don't need most of what I can buy. I have the choice, that's for sure, but I am far more aware that a more careful and thoughtful re-routing of my resources will mean greater freedom for future purposes; and I am not just talking about books.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Momentum is crucial....no matter how slow
In other words, keep going...
Recently, I was sitting passenger side in a jeep (maybe it's an SUV, but as cars are not my thing and I am not good at getting the details right, let's call this one a jeep with a gear box, which probably all jeeps have.) The 20 year old driver of the vehicle had, from his birth to present day, lived in a beautiful home nestled in the Colorado mountains. On this particular day, the two of us had reason to drive into town which was after a recent snow fall and as he negotiated the reasonably narrow road, I was keeping a close watch on his driving technique, especially as he used the lower gears. There was a strong possibility that I would be borrowing the car within the next few days (and that happened) and, as I not accustomed to driving in wintery conditions down a narrow curving road, I wanted to ensure that I knew what I was doing (as much as that was possible). Most people, he commented, do not know how to drive well in snow. They usually go too fast and then have to use their brakes too often and that makes it difficult to keep control of the car (as well as avoiding crashing into fellow road users). When they do that, their wheels stop and that can be a crucial mistake even through brakes are for slowing us down, in snow, that's not a good thing, and use them sparingly.
The trick, he told me, was to keep the wheels going. As we drove I was asking him questions as borrowing a car always comes with responsibility, perhaps more so than driving one's own vehicle and I wanted to get it right, especially so in these unfamiliar (to me) conditions. According to him, most people, when navigating snow and ice, drive in too high a gear and therefore don't have good control over their speed. Keep it in first or maybe second gear will give the driver so much more control and that's what we need while maneuvering down a steep incline.
It's all about momentum. Keep going. It's fine to go slowly as keeping the wheels turning is what's needed with minimal brake use than to allow the car to go too fast. That would inevitably panic the driver and force a slower speed somewhere down the road with perhaps dangerous results. Move with the snow and use it as a natural breaker if the speed seems to be getting too much.
I think that's what I am doing in my life right now. Nothing is going fast and yet, I am continuing to move. I am keeping my spiritual wheels going by reading around topics and current issues that somewhere down the road I will need. There is a nagging inclination inside of me to allow fear and anxiety to take over and yet, forward momentum, however slow, is what's needed, however much I long to go faster. Perhaps going slower without having to use the brakes is what keeps fear and anxiety away from my path.
Keep the wheels going. Keep going, however slowly because forward momentum is crucial.
Recently, I was sitting passenger side in a jeep (maybe it's an SUV, but as cars are not my thing and I am not good at getting the details right, let's call this one a jeep with a gear box, which probably all jeeps have.) The 20 year old driver of the vehicle had, from his birth to present day, lived in a beautiful home nestled in the Colorado mountains. On this particular day, the two of us had reason to drive into town which was after a recent snow fall and as he negotiated the reasonably narrow road, I was keeping a close watch on his driving technique, especially as he used the lower gears. There was a strong possibility that I would be borrowing the car within the next few days (and that happened) and, as I not accustomed to driving in wintery conditions down a narrow curving road, I wanted to ensure that I knew what I was doing (as much as that was possible). Most people, he commented, do not know how to drive well in snow. They usually go too fast and then have to use their brakes too often and that makes it difficult to keep control of the car (as well as avoiding crashing into fellow road users). When they do that, their wheels stop and that can be a crucial mistake even through brakes are for slowing us down, in snow, that's not a good thing, and use them sparingly.
The trick, he told me, was to keep the wheels going. As we drove I was asking him questions as borrowing a car always comes with responsibility, perhaps more so than driving one's own vehicle and I wanted to get it right, especially so in these unfamiliar (to me) conditions. According to him, most people, when navigating snow and ice, drive in too high a gear and therefore don't have good control over their speed. Keep it in first or maybe second gear will give the driver so much more control and that's what we need while maneuvering down a steep incline.
It's all about momentum. Keep going. It's fine to go slowly as keeping the wheels turning is what's needed with minimal brake use than to allow the car to go too fast. That would inevitably panic the driver and force a slower speed somewhere down the road with perhaps dangerous results. Move with the snow and use it as a natural breaker if the speed seems to be getting too much.
I think that's what I am doing in my life right now. Nothing is going fast and yet, I am continuing to move. I am keeping my spiritual wheels going by reading around topics and current issues that somewhere down the road I will need. There is a nagging inclination inside of me to allow fear and anxiety to take over and yet, forward momentum, however slow, is what's needed, however much I long to go faster. Perhaps going slower without having to use the brakes is what keeps fear and anxiety away from my path.
Keep the wheels going. Keep going, however slowly because forward momentum is crucial.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Watching pain
Grief is pain. Pain means hurt. Hurt means something is sore. And sore bits require attention. Sometimes it's too hard to give attention to the sore bits but they keep nagging us telling us that we are hurting. The realization that something hurts means there is pain and we are reminded that the pain is because of the grief.
On December 25, 2013, I witnessed my dad take his final few breaths and by doing so, lose his need for the earthly body he had occupied for a week shy of 83 years. He was no longer part of the world in which his family still lives though we often wish he was still around; as long as he could be around in no pain and struggle. We meet people who want to make things seem easier than they are say things that are somewhat unhelpful. They do not mean to, but they do. Perhaps it's because we all have too many words to say and instead of just listening and letting the silence between us do it's thing, we fill it will well meaning but unnecessary words. Everyone tells me that from now on, that day will be significant as we will always remember it being the day on which my father died. It will be more significant because it's already a significant day. But the reality is that no matter the day on which he left us, a woman lost her husband and best friend, children lost their father, a man lost his brother and others lost an uncle, a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker, and we were reminded that we are not around forever, much as we wish it for each other. And there will be all more. We can't see that yet and that's a good thing.
On December 25, 2013, I witnessed my dad take his final few breaths and by doing so, lose his need for the earthly body he had occupied for a week shy of 83 years. He was no longer part of the world in which his family still lives though we often wish he was still around; as long as he could be around in no pain and struggle. We meet people who want to make things seem easier than they are say things that are somewhat unhelpful. They do not mean to, but they do. Perhaps it's because we all have too many words to say and instead of just listening and letting the silence between us do it's thing, we fill it will well meaning but unnecessary words. Everyone tells me that from now on, that day will be significant as we will always remember it being the day on which my father died. It will be more significant because it's already a significant day. But the reality is that no matter the day on which he left us, a woman lost her husband and best friend, children lost their father, a man lost his brother and others lost an uncle, a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker, and we were reminded that we are not around forever, much as we wish it for each other. And there will be all more. We can't see that yet and that's a good thing.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
There is a future beyond that you can't see.... but that's faith
Through the keyhole...
This picture was taken while on a hike in Loveland, Colorado. On one of the wildest and windiest of days I climbed the trail leading to this spot. The thing I like about this picture, apart from the obvios beauty, is what we expect to see through the space is not always obvious. The eye can only see so much and of course one could ascertain that with the given evidence what's beyond the rock will also be beautiful and good. However what's unseen is still unknown and what's unknown is still uncertain and what's uncertain still requires the faith to move forward into what we can't see.
We live by faith, not by sight...
Monday, November 4, 2013
Do we use fire well?
In thinking about the use of social media, I heard this description of it:
"Social media is like fire. It is good when you are freezing and need to warm up a little and sit by it for a while. You can also use it to burn down a barn."
And this one was also useful:
"Social media is good for communication but connection happens between people."
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Living courageously
I have just read the most brilliantly insightful book right now. Actually, the truth is I am reading and re-reading it, underlining in it, taking notes from it, quoting chunks of it to friends and recommending it to everyone I meet. The book in question is called, "Daring Greatly," by Dr Brene Brown. The sub title "How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the way we Live, Love, Parent and Lead," and, in my opinion, is the second most transformative book I have ever read (the first being the Holy Scriptures, commonly known to us as the Bible).
Dr Brown is, in her words, a shame and vulnerability researcher. Her work, which is the result of wading through over 100s of pages of data over the course of several years, discusses why we human beings struggle with being vulnerable and letting ourselves be seen, really seen. A summary of the book might be as simple as this: realizing that no matter who we are, where we have come from, whoever our parents are (or are not), we ALL struggle and wrestle with the question, "Am I enough?" Dr Brown's conclusion is that people who believe in the depth of their souls that they are "enough" are the ones who live wholeheartedly. They live believing that they are worthy of love and belonging. She adds, all of us, every human being, will experience shame and the ones who truly believe in their worthiness, their "enoughness," the ones she calls, "wholehearted,' are those who have learned shame resilience. They are not shame resistant, they are shame resilient. They have learned that healthy connections with other human beings involve putting themselves "out there" and sometimes that requires unlimited amounts of courage and developed strategies
I believe this book is essential reading for pastors, teachers, leaders, CEO's, managers, artists, collaborators... in fact, everyone who has any accountability for people (including themselves). It ought to be compulsory reading, especially pastors, for whom I have a particular interest. It's brilliant.
In her introduction, Dr Brown says this:
Dr Brown is, in her words, a shame and vulnerability researcher. Her work, which is the result of wading through over 100s of pages of data over the course of several years, discusses why we human beings struggle with being vulnerable and letting ourselves be seen, really seen. A summary of the book might be as simple as this: realizing that no matter who we are, where we have come from, whoever our parents are (or are not), we ALL struggle and wrestle with the question, "Am I enough?" Dr Brown's conclusion is that people who believe in the depth of their souls that they are "enough" are the ones who live wholeheartedly. They live believing that they are worthy of love and belonging. She adds, all of us, every human being, will experience shame and the ones who truly believe in their worthiness, their "enoughness," the ones she calls, "wholehearted,' are those who have learned shame resilience. They are not shame resistant, they are shame resilient. They have learned that healthy connections with other human beings involve putting themselves "out there" and sometimes that requires unlimited amounts of courage and developed strategies
I believe this book is essential reading for pastors, teachers, leaders, CEO's, managers, artists, collaborators... in fact, everyone who has any accountability for people (including themselves). It ought to be compulsory reading, especially pastors, for whom I have a particular interest. It's brilliant.
In her introduction, Dr Brown says this:
"The Wholehearted identify vulnerably as the catalyst for courage, compassion and connection In fact, the willingness to be vulnerable emerged as the single clearest value shared by all of the women and men whom I would describe as Wholehearted. They attribute everything...to their ability to be vulnerable."
It is brilliant. Straightforward, simple and clear. While I was reading and underlining so many words and sentences, I couldn't help but think that we already have a model who has already lived a wholehearted life as described by Dr Brown.
More to follow on this Wholehearted life...
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Getting my life back
In the past week I got my life back; not my physical life, but my entire life; my whole life. It’s
taken a while, many conversations and reminders of the truth from God’s Word, not to mention some deep internal work and I have realized this by deeply understanding two things. The first is what it means to be a child of the Most High God; completely and utterly loved and there is NOTHING that can take that away from me. The second is connected to being fully loved. If that is the case then I can live free as a child of God through faith. My identity, worth and value do not come from human authority but from the God who has promised to never leave me or forsake me and LOVES me so much it was worth being brutalized and crucified so that I could have life and life to the full.
The first sermon I preached upon my return to the USA in March 2012 was about the choice
between life and death. It might seem like a strange concept but every day we are making choices for life or for death. John’s gospel records Jesus saying, “I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.” Jesus didn’t say I have come that you will, or you must or I will make you have life…. He said, “you may.” So it’s a choice for us. Light and life are 2 major themes in John’s gospel as are their opposites – darkness and death. John continues with the life and light theme in his letters. 1 John 1 begins with these words;
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched, this we proclaim to you concerning the Word of LIFE. The LIFE appeared, we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal LIFE which was with the Father and has appeared to us.”
What John is trying to help his readers to see is who this Jesus was and is – the Word of life. He wants us to know this and believe it for ourselves. We have to see it for ourselves and then believe that he is the LIFE; that life was the light of all people. John was one of those who got to be with and see Jesus up close for three years and it took some time for John to “get it.” But when he did, he uses every way he can to describe who Jesus was so that we get it too. God is light so live in the light – and LIVE. There is no other way of actually living a real life. Without the fellowship of the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, we are not living; we give the appearance of doing so because we are still walking around and we can still breathe in air and have a form of being alive.
So John says this is what we have seen and heard and looked at – this is the WORD of life. But
we have a choice; life or death. We make choices every day that lead to life or to death. We can get mad because something doesn’t work out for us. Someone hurts us and we can either retaliate or figure out ways to hurt back or we can forgive and move ahead. We spend longs hours on a work project and it’s rejected and we develop a complaining spirit or we continue to put in hours of excellence. We rub shoulders with people who don’t hold the values that we deem important and we allow them to define, categorize and label us and tell us stuff about ourselves that’s just not true. We can either allow discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissension, factions, envy, malice, hypocrisy and slander of every kind (acts of our sinful nature) to infiltrate our thoughts and speech and define us. Or we can make the choice of life and live by the Spirit being defined by love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. How much of either of those lists do you see in your
life – is there more of the latter than the former? It is a choice – always. The more we practice it, the more we will choose life out of habit and that will lead to more life and more of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Choose life – we are all children of God through faith. So if you know God – or rather are
known by God, allow the Spirit to work abundantly in your life. Don’t do what you think the world needs: do what makes you come alive and that is about choosing life.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Seeing life from the side
A week ago I made a spontaneous decision to go downtown Chicago and watch the first preview of the Lookingglass Theater's production of, "East land." The only thing I knew about the play was that it is a musical, a new musical. The read through took place in the summer of 2011 in Grant Park, Chicago. A year on, and here is the finished product.
I love the Lookingglass Theater. this is the third production that I have seen and they are always great. very creative, highly imaginative, and compelling enough to keep it's audience attentive throughout the entire show, even without an intermission.
And so I booked the last ticket to the preview - not knowing it was a preview until the show's director stood at the front and gave us an introduction to watching a preview. The good thing is that the tickets are cheaper than the main season and usually the average audience member will not notice any difference and indeed it all looked great to me. Because I bought the last ticket, it was one right at the front and at the end of the row. Having been to previous productions and seen the way that the set uses all parts of the theater, I wasn't bothered that my seat was at the end or the front.
However, the best part was that I did not sit in my designated seat. The usher asked me and my neighbor if we would mind moving as they needed our seats for wheelchair access. The great thing was that we were moved to the side and onto the elevated section. So we, my neighbor (whose name I discovered was Lauren) and I watched fromt eh side.
Watching the play from the side gave me a bunch of insights. First, watching from the side meant that I could see the rest of the audience and their reactions to what was going on. But even better, was watching the actors from the side. Every nuance was on show, and I discovered that actually watching from the front we miss so much. We get to see the mirror image but really the real image is the one from the side. What happens on the side is the added picture to what we already see.
If I was to watch your life from side on, and if you were to do the same with me, what would we see? Would I like your answer and would you agree with mine?
I love the Lookingglass Theater. this is the third production that I have seen and they are always great. very creative, highly imaginative, and compelling enough to keep it's audience attentive throughout the entire show, even without an intermission.
And so I booked the last ticket to the preview - not knowing it was a preview until the show's director stood at the front and gave us an introduction to watching a preview. The good thing is that the tickets are cheaper than the main season and usually the average audience member will not notice any difference and indeed it all looked great to me. Because I bought the last ticket, it was one right at the front and at the end of the row. Having been to previous productions and seen the way that the set uses all parts of the theater, I wasn't bothered that my seat was at the end or the front.
However, the best part was that I did not sit in my designated seat. The usher asked me and my neighbor if we would mind moving as they needed our seats for wheelchair access. The great thing was that we were moved to the side and onto the elevated section. So we, my neighbor (whose name I discovered was Lauren) and I watched fromt eh side.
Watching the play from the side gave me a bunch of insights. First, watching from the side meant that I could see the rest of the audience and their reactions to what was going on. But even better, was watching the actors from the side. Every nuance was on show, and I discovered that actually watching from the front we miss so much. We get to see the mirror image but really the real image is the one from the side. What happens on the side is the added picture to what we already see.
If I was to watch your life from side on, and if you were to do the same with me, what would we see? Would I like your answer and would you agree with mine?
Saturday, June 2, 2012
The real thing
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death...
(Isaiah 6:1-8)
The law was weakened by the sinful nature... the only way that we can stand before the Most Holy God is through Jesus Christ. It is hard for us humans to get this... God is HOLY. I find it hard to find words to describe this word: HOLY. Sacred, hallowed, pure, without blemish, worthy, revered... I am not sure which one to use here. The prophet, Isaiah, realized how holy God is when he saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted and angels were flying around. Even the angels knew how Holy God is and so they covered their faces because who could look at the Most Holy God and live. So they covered their faces, and their feet and used the other 2 wings to fly. They were calling back to one another, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.
Isaiah realized he was in the presence of HOLINESS and that was nothing to take lightly. His reply was a cry - probably a loud cry with all the flying around going on, "Woe to me... I am ruined." Being in the presence of holiness showed Isaiah's need for cleanliness. One of the angels did something that would hurt; he touched Isaiah with a LIVE COAL, a hot, flaming, live coal. But instead of burning his mouth, the coal took his guilt away and his sin was atoned for. He could do nothing else but be awestruck by God.
Sometimes I take God so for granted that I take His holiness for granted too. I forget that while it is true that I am made in his image, fearfully and wonderfully made, and a fully loved daughter of the Most High King, that identity comes with responsibility and I am not at liberty to do what the heck I what I want and when I want. I think that this is what the Apostle Paul is getting at in his letter to the Romans.
Right before this passage, Paul writes in a "out of his mind" way. Really, if Paul were to say all that he says here in a modern day context, he would be put away for literally being, "out of his mind." It is pretty funny in a scary way:
"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. That's sin living in me... that's not my true self....the self that is in Christ... For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it..."
If you are confused, that's OK, because so am I... and so was Paul. He knows that while he lives in this world, sin is still alive and well... but because of God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful humanity to be a sin offering, Jesus Christ did our work for us on the cross and therefore the requirement of the law was fulfilled by his atoning sacrifice.
OK, in short, for those who are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation because the Spirit who gives life has set us free from the law of sin and death.
END OF STORY...or is it...?
We are controlled by the Spirit... not by our stuff which causes us to sin... but that kind of transformation takes WORK.
Next time... the work of transformation.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Up front anxiety
Today's post is related to one that written by Seth Godin @
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2012/05/perhaps-your-anxiety-is-specific-to-magicians.html
I will not quote the post in it's entirety as Seth has done that one very well for himself but here's the gist of what he says.
Seth begins by titling his post as follows:
"Perhaps your anxiety is specific to magicians"
He then goes on to say that people who have "up front" jobs; musicians, actors, magicians etc., may have natural anxiety levels because they are always up front in their jobs. However, after further reading of this post, he says that actually anxiety is experienced by anyone who has ever had to be a part of something they cannot ultimately control - ie. all of us. The piece I like about it is that Godin suggests that being anxious about something might be a good indicator of who much one cares about what they are doing...
Whenever I hear the word, "anxiety" (an emotion that appears with annoying regularity especially on preaching weeks like this one), I remember that the Apostle Paul told us not to be anxious about ANYTHING, but in EVERYTHING, by prayer and petition, present our requests to God. Once we have done that, we can TRUST that the peace of God, which passes ALL understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
So, perhaps we can let our anxiety be free by giving it over to a faithful God who KNOWS that we will be anxious and knows that we wil be anxious over the things for which we care, and therefore He will take care of them and honor the work that we have invested in that about which we care.
We care, so let the anxiety out the door... or as Godin says, good riddance to it... and present your requests to God and PEACE will follow.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The choice of freedom
I seem to be following a pattern here... the choice of joy, the choice between life and death and now I am looking at the choice of freedom. Most of the reason for thinking around freedom is because this weekend I am preaching and we have temporarily stepped away from the Lectionary and have been looking at the Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans for the past 2 weeks and once again this week.
Paul writes:
"Let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Accept those whose faith is weak, out quarreling over disputable matters..."
Freedom. It was for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery."
The Apostle, Paul, is writing to the Galatians. He is mad that the Galatians are being so easily led astray by the Jewish Christians who are telling them that they have to follow the law and be circumcised. Paul says, NO. That was the old law and we are now under the new law - the law has been fulfilled and Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection. One can almost hear the sarcasm in his voice; wait, was it God or humans that set you free, he asks???
So, I have come to believe that all of life is a choice, especially when one follows Jesus Christ. It's a choice. God does not force His way into our lives; He does promise us that the only way to live fully is to live in Him and that could seem like we are being blackmailed into following Him because how else could we live? But actually there is only one way to live and that is to live IN HIM.
Paul writes:
"Let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Accept those whose faith is weak, out quarreling over disputable matters..."
Freedom. It was for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery."
The Apostle, Paul, is writing to the Galatians. He is mad that the Galatians are being so easily led astray by the Jewish Christians who are telling them that they have to follow the law and be circumcised. Paul says, NO. That was the old law and we are now under the new law - the law has been fulfilled and Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection. One can almost hear the sarcasm in his voice; wait, was it God or humans that set you free, he asks???
So, I have come to believe that all of life is a choice, especially when one follows Jesus Christ. It's a choice. God does not force His way into our lives; He does promise us that the only way to live fully is to live in Him and that could seem like we are being blackmailed into following Him because how else could we live? But actually there is only one way to live and that is to live IN HIM.
Jesus said,
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me."
Jesus did not say, "I will bang down the door until you let me in..." Jesus does not barge into our lives unasked, uninvited; He gives us that choice to respond to His call.
And that is where the freedom comes in. Every time.... and it doesn't stop when we make the choice to follow Jesus Christ. We make choices every day. The choice to talk to a stranger just because we know God is prompting us to do so. The choice to walk a little further so we can see the flowers along the way. The choice to take more time than we might have done with a friend who just wants to talk for longer... The choice to invite another driver into our lane and not cut them off.... or use inappropriate hand signals just like everyone else does. The choice to not go to Starbucks one more time and instead buy the person on the street coffee instead. The choice to be in the world but not of the world because the world is crying out for a different way of living and we know the God who made them and loves them and longs for them to know Him too.
So, as the Apostle Paul says,
"You my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.... serve one another humbly in love....Love your neighbor as yourself."
So choose life... choose freedom....
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The choice between life and death
I have never preached a sermon without notes....never that is, until 2 weeks ago. And the entire reason for doing so is that I felt so strongly about the topic about which I was preaching. I was a mess all week, lost a few pounds in being anxious about doing such a thing, worried that I would completely clam up and while it sounded great in the dining room, when I got to the pulpit it wouldn't sound so wonderful after all.
However, my fears were not realized. Rather than being relieved, I was actually more certain that what I was preaching had run so deep in me that to have created a manuscript or notes would have been stupid because the words were so deeply in grained in my psyche. The particular message was all about life.... or rather the choices we make between life and death.
Most of us might think that we don't ever get to choose life or death. After all, we have no opinions over whether or not we are physically born and we have very little control over when, how we die but we have EVERYTHING to do with how we live, not withstanding extraordinary events or tragedies. Of course I get this directive to live life from Scripture so here we go.
I think one of my favorite people in the Bible is the gospel writer, John - at least he is among the top of the list for now. I have read through his gospel a few times and dipped in and out of it many times. However, during my time in the UK I was deeply embedded in his first letter. I am learning that the Word of God is indeed alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. And so John's first letter did exactly that - penetrating the deepest recesses of my heart. I had heard a sermon some time ago about life and was challenged to look into the matter for myself. John starts off his letter with these words:
However, my fears were not realized. Rather than being relieved, I was actually more certain that what I was preaching had run so deep in me that to have created a manuscript or notes would have been stupid because the words were so deeply in grained in my psyche. The particular message was all about life.... or rather the choices we make between life and death.
Most of us might think that we don't ever get to choose life or death. After all, we have no opinions over whether or not we are physically born and we have very little control over when, how we die but we have EVERYTHING to do with how we live, not withstanding extraordinary events or tragedies. Of course I get this directive to live life from Scripture so here we go.
I think one of my favorite people in the Bible is the gospel writer, John - at least he is among the top of the list for now. I have read through his gospel a few times and dipped in and out of it many times. However, during my time in the UK I was deeply embedded in his first letter. I am learning that the Word of God is indeed alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. And so John's first letter did exactly that - penetrating the deepest recesses of my heart. I had heard a sermon some time ago about life and was challenged to look into the matter for myself. John starts off his letter with these words:
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at, which our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim
to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to
us. We proclaim to you
what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with
us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete."
So John starts us off with him trying to find words to explain to us what has happened. John was a disciple of Jesus and not only that, was one of the three, along with Peter and James, that formed the most intimate inner circle of disciples. Scholars believe he was one of the youngest of the disciples, possibly in his late teens and definitely no older than early twenties. He got to have nearly 1000 days, nearly 24/7, 365 with Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Chosen One, the One who would be the Atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world.... John probably wouldn't have admitted it at the time, but he was in one heck of a privileged position.
However, I digress....
In these opening words in his first letter, John is trying to help his readers get a handle of just who this is - that which was from the beginning. Now, John is really into letting us know that the only One who was from the beginning is THE one. The I AM, God, Almighty, Holy and Awesome. Perhaps he knew the beginning of the Pentateuch - Genesis starts with, "In the beginning, God..." John begins his Gospel with, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made..." John is wanting to emphasize that God was and is the beginning. there was nothing before because God has always been. However, for our human being understanding, John starts with, "That which was from the beginning..." Then he goes on to describe to us, by using the human senses, who this was....from the beginning. John is trying to help us listen to, hear, touch and know the LIFE. "The life appeared... and made his dwelling among us and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us...."
All through John's writings; the gospel, the letters and Revelation, are the themes of life and death and light vs darkness. what John is telling his readers is that there is no life apart from Christ.
I have struggled with the verse, John 10:10; "I have come that you may have life and have it to the full." Other translations say, "in abundance," or "more and better life than they ever dreamed of," but whichever translation is used, the word in Greek is "life." The girl's name, "Zoe," is also from the Greek word meaning, life and this is the essence of what John is getting at when he quotes Jesus. I have struggled with this verse because I don't believe I have gotten to the core of what this word means and what Jesus was saying.
I had a hard conversation with a good friend recently. she is really struggling in many ways and this topic of life came up with her. while I was sharing my thoughts on life, she cut in and said something along the lines of, "Well, I am alive, I am breathing." I thought about this comment for a moment and was careful in my reply as she is hurting and I didn't want to accuse her of not being alive. So I wondered if the medical definition of being alive is not the same as the way in which Jesus would describe it. Jesus is saying that without the life that He offers, we are not really alive. yes, we are sucking in air, using it and expelling it, but is that really the God definition of life? Not according to John. having life is only possible because we are in Christ and have abundant life through Him and the important thing to remember is that there is nothing in all of creation that can give us this kind of life. Creation is part of the Creator's genius and the only One that can give us life is the one that sustains life and is the source of life.
However, God's desire is for us to have it. But he will not force it on us. it is not our automatic right. Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life." John said, " We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us."
Choose life. Choose to live in Christ. Make the choice between life and death.
The choice of joy
As the Apostle Paul was finishing up his words to the Philippian Church, he wrote these words;
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Why does Paul say, "...I will say it again: Rejoice?" He has told us to rejoice in the Lord always once already so why the underlining of saying it again? Because we are not good at rejoicing. We, for the most part, suck at it. So Paul has to remind us to do it - again.
Last year I wrote and thought about joy A LOT, mostly because I am not a naturally joyfully person. Some of my friends would disagree with me on this one, but I believe that God has, for the past few months, been teaching me how to practice joy, and usually to practice it when I least want to do so.
Back in 2008, I lived in Bend, OR. It was one of the most transformational years of my up until now existence. I met with a woman in her mid forties who is currently a teaching pastor at one of the larger churches in the city. She is married with four children, one of whom is now married (and to date has a baby boy). We talked about being a female pastor in a male world, wrestling with motherhood while pursuing a call to pastoral leadership and many other topics graced our accompanying coffee dates. I was anxious to glean from her what it was like to be a pastor and those things which I really needed to know and those of which I needed to be aware in my new vocation. One of the things with which she was considering was this whole idea of joy. Although her life was pretty great, she was always aware that it was too great and what bomb was going to drop out of nowhere for her or her family. So she started a pursuit of finding joy - in everything. It was actually highly prophetic as little over a year ago, her husband developed Lou Gehrig disease - completely devastating news as there is no cure. However, her work on the pursuit of joy, or rather, the "Joy Project," had been done without her knowing that this would prove unbelievable preparation for the next phase in her family's life.
I haven't kept in regular contact with her since 2009 after I left Bend, but I do see various facebook posts and occasionally read her blog. The tenacity and relentless pursuit of life and joy amongst difficult circumstances has been inspirational. No one chooses such life threatening illnesses...they are not tests sent to us by a loving God, they are not what we would wish for those whom we love or anyone in fact, but how we handle them and live our lives with them is how much we trust and know that our lives here are short and we had better make the most of them while we have life. Hard to do, I know, in the mist of tragedy and adversity, but, as the Psalmist puts it, our lives are but mist... and mist is gone by the morning. We are also fully loved and cherished and gifted by an Almighty and Holy God so there is way more to just enduring calamities than we might imagine.
And so, back to joy. I am experiencing a lot of joy right now and there is the thought at the back of my mind that the shoe is about to drop (the first one hasn't yet and so it can't be the other shoe) and this time of joy will be short lived. However, that is missing the point of true joy. The Apostle, Paul tells us to REJOICE, oh, and by the way, to do that IN THE LORD.... and to do it ALWAYS. It is not a happy-clappy kind of joy that is totally reliant on how I am feeling or the circumstances in my life but completely dependent on the source of our joy - THE LORD. Only when I rely - completely and utterly - on HIM, will I experience fully joy, the God-given, Holy, amazing joy - no matter what.
I think that is why Paul then goes on to tell us not to be anxious about anything - because, believe me, there is plenty to be anxious about if we look at our circumstances and uncertainty around us. So we get to choose.... but Paul asks us to choose this one....
REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS!!!!
Back in 2008, I lived in Bend, OR. It was one of the most transformational years of my up until now existence. I met with a woman in her mid forties who is currently a teaching pastor at one of the larger churches in the city. She is married with four children, one of whom is now married (and to date has a baby boy). We talked about being a female pastor in a male world, wrestling with motherhood while pursuing a call to pastoral leadership and many other topics graced our accompanying coffee dates. I was anxious to glean from her what it was like to be a pastor and those things which I really needed to know and those of which I needed to be aware in my new vocation. One of the things with which she was considering was this whole idea of joy. Although her life was pretty great, she was always aware that it was too great and what bomb was going to drop out of nowhere for her or her family. So she started a pursuit of finding joy - in everything. It was actually highly prophetic as little over a year ago, her husband developed Lou Gehrig disease - completely devastating news as there is no cure. However, her work on the pursuit of joy, or rather, the "Joy Project," had been done without her knowing that this would prove unbelievable preparation for the next phase in her family's life.
I haven't kept in regular contact with her since 2009 after I left Bend, but I do see various facebook posts and occasionally read her blog. The tenacity and relentless pursuit of life and joy amongst difficult circumstances has been inspirational. No one chooses such life threatening illnesses...they are not tests sent to us by a loving God, they are not what we would wish for those whom we love or anyone in fact, but how we handle them and live our lives with them is how much we trust and know that our lives here are short and we had better make the most of them while we have life. Hard to do, I know, in the mist of tragedy and adversity, but, as the Psalmist puts it, our lives are but mist... and mist is gone by the morning. We are also fully loved and cherished and gifted by an Almighty and Holy God so there is way more to just enduring calamities than we might imagine.
And so, back to joy. I am experiencing a lot of joy right now and there is the thought at the back of my mind that the shoe is about to drop (the first one hasn't yet and so it can't be the other shoe) and this time of joy will be short lived. However, that is missing the point of true joy. The Apostle, Paul tells us to REJOICE, oh, and by the way, to do that IN THE LORD.... and to do it ALWAYS. It is not a happy-clappy kind of joy that is totally reliant on how I am feeling or the circumstances in my life but completely dependent on the source of our joy - THE LORD. Only when I rely - completely and utterly - on HIM, will I experience fully joy, the God-given, Holy, amazing joy - no matter what.
I think that is why Paul then goes on to tell us not to be anxious about anything - because, believe me, there is plenty to be anxious about if we look at our circumstances and uncertainty around us. So we get to choose.... but Paul asks us to choose this one....
REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS!!!!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
LENT - Day 3
It is Day 3 of Lent and for the first time in what feels like a long time, I have found a quiet place in which to sit and consider God’s Word. As soon as I thought about the word, “consider,” it reminded me of Jesus’ words in Matthew’s gospel although the TNIV does not use this word. This translation uses, “See.” I do not have my Greek New Testament with me and cannot check the translation of the word in question but nevertheless, thinking on the word, “consider,” has brought me to this passage in Matthew 6:24-34.
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important then clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
Who of us is able to go through a day without worrying? And yet, this is the command that Jesus gives us; “Do not worry.” Do not worry about your life, what you will wear, what you will eat, what you will drink… and I wonder if Jesus has left the rest unsaid: Do not worry about anything because worrying wastes energy that could otherwise be invested into good things. By saying do not worry about your life, Jesus has said it all: do not worry. Worrying is pointless and useless and time consuming and does not give any pleasure to us, or to the people around us watching us worry.
“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to their life?”
There is no point in worrying and I have come to believe that part of why worrying is so destructive and why Jesus commands us not to do so is because worrying is cumulative. We worry about the big things perhaps thinking that if we worry about those, the little things will pale into the background but that is not true. We can train ourselves to worry about the big things and then our minds get so focused on worrying, we become experts at it. Perhaps we think that by worrying, some good will come out of that exercise but all that happens is we find other things to worry about.
“You cannot serve both God and money.”
I believe this previous verse has everything to do with what follows especially as we live in an area of the world where money is being much talked about. One of the headlines this morning was of Lloyds Bank “suffering” a loss of millions of pounds because they mis-sold insurance policies. Hard on the heels of that headline was the next describing the outrage of the general public because senior level bosses are being “awarded” seemingly ridiculous sums of money in bonus payouts. Is the outrage really about the money being handed out to someone else or how unfair it seems that where one person financially gains, another one loses?
Jesus has commanded, “Do no worry,” and “No one can serve two masters…you cannot serve both God and Money.”
In this season of Lent, I am diving into Jesus’ command to not worry and it is not an easy thing to do (perhaps giving up chocolate might have been easier). In deliberately setting aside the very easy thought patterns of worry and to realize that while I can consider that I am fully responsible for figuring out how to pay for my life’s tasks, Jesus is asking me not to worry about how that happens takes some willful action. Do not worry. That is today’s command because tomorrow will worry about itself.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Bless the Lord, oh my soul
Yesterday I was reading from one of Alistair Cooke's "Letters from America.” Cooke was a Brit who lived a lot of his life in the USA, a lot in New York and was a talented journalist. He died in 2004 and his publisher, Penguin, released a new edition of the "Letters" in commemoration of his death. As a teenager I listened to the BBC broadcasts which Cooke continued to present until shortly before his death and they were fun stories of everyday life in the USA and odd, pithy things that everyone else looked over while Cooke noticed.
One of his first accounts in the "Letters" begins with a story of a British diplomat friend who visited Cooke in the US. Cooke details that he is an expert on a peculiar type of goldfish, the goldfish in this case, being the American people (bear in mind that this was written in 1946 so when he refers to America, he is referring to the United States of the late 40s). When all there is are goldfish, it’s really hard to say what distinguishes the goldfish from other fish because the thing about goldfish is that no on
I have, for the past 2 months been a mackerel. However it has not taken long for me to be assimilated into the world of the goldfish. I am reminded of the “lobster in the pot” analogy. There were several things that I noticed when I first landed into the United Kingdom over 2 months ago and now I am forgetting those things at which I was first amazed. Everyone is grumpy; no one smiles, no one raises their head in greeting as they pass by their fellow human… we live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world and perhaps we have taken that for granted too.
So listening to the words from the opening song of the Midwinter conference from Chicago, I am reminded it’s not about me. It’s about LIFE. It’s about the ONE who give us life and the words of this song reverberate through my head. We have been singing it at church here in Edinburgh… I love that… no matter where I am, I can be singing the praises of the Lord. These lyrics are great.
Bless the Lord, oh my soul, oh my soul,
Worship his holy name.
Sing like never before, oh my soul…
I worship your holy name.
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