Worms, Anchors and Encouragement from Beyond the Grave

It has been a rather mundane kind of a day.  Up early, kids and hubby off to work.  Exercise done.  Breakfast (grapefruit and yogurt. again).  Then to work attacking the list of goals for the day.  We have a busy weekend and, despite no one being home much of the week, the house looks like something exploded. Laundry cleaned on Monday still sits in the middle of the family room, unfolded and waiting in the basket for someone to show it some love.  That was today.  Filling my role in this house as the one who eats the leftovers, folds the laundry no one ever got around to folding, and picks up the loose ends.  Some days I hate this role - but today it was OK.  

It was also a day to make more progress on the great purge of 2014.  After years of things piling up, we are taking a good look at what we really keep and parting with much of it.  On cutting block today was 7 years of completed bible studies.  I have kept every single study I have ever done.  I guess I thought if I ever did that topic again, I'd go look up what I wrote and see how time changed my thinking.  Today out they went - with the thinking that if I do again come across that topic in the future, I should not be bound by previous answers, but seek to find the answers I need in that current time frame.  And, (bonus!), I freed up an ENTIRE shelf on the book case to properly store my growing resources related to special needs ministry.

It has been a season of reflecting, cleaning, letting go.  Not doing anything new till we clean up what we already started.  Earlier this week I gave a devotional about worms (yes, really).  I was struck by the way they move.  First they shrink up, and when they do tiny bristles stick out and grip the area around them to hold them in place.  Kind of like an anchor that holds them in place while they get ready to move.  They anchor themselves before they move any further forward and stretch themselves.  I compared this to our journey as Christians.  After a season of growth, we need to shrink up a bit, make sure our anchor is in place before moving forward and taking the next step.  

I keep wondering when this current season of anchoring will be over. I have felt the slight rumbling in the soul that it's almost time.  SO, I got chuckle today from something else I stumbled across.  A card - from a dear gentleman who has since passed into the arms of Jesus.  It was a thank you card for a visit to him - but it's the last words he wrote that were the reason I kept the card.  Really, they were the last real words he said to me as he passed away just a few months later. 

"You are one who does things, not just thinking about them."  

I guess it's time.
Thank you, Charles.

The Quandry of the Christmas Song

One of the best things about Christmas is the songs – there are so many good ones!  Every year, I seem to find one or two that grab me – they might be a new version of an old favorite, or one I hadn’t heard in a while, or maybe had not ever heard.

SO, imagine my surprise that I have had 3 songs stuck in my head that have almost nothing to do with Christmas…or do they??  Yes, this will be one of those posts…but just stick with it till the end and see where it ends up.

I really love ALL kinds of music – and often listen to Top 40 hits through a different filter, trying to find a spiritual aspect to Jay Z or whoever comes on the radio.  Here are the two hits I have in my head currently:

Unconditionally - Katy Perry.  I actually imagine God singing this song to me and it gives the words a whole new meaning.  A God who sees and knows EVERYTHING, whether we want Him to or not…yet loves us anyway.  "Come just as you are to me...Open up your heart and just let it begin"...really, isn't that all God wants???  A song full of hope!  [Katy Perry has quite a few songs that can easily take a spiritual bent  - she is a DOUBLE PK after all - both of her parents are preachers]. 

Say Something - A Great Big World/Christina Aguilera.  I think this is actually THE most depressing song I have ever heard.  I hate that it’s on the radio in December.  “I’m giving up on you”.  Is there anything worse a person can say, or be told????  I’d rather have someone say they hate me than say they have given up on me.   SO, no.  I certainly don’t imagine God singing this one.  Actually, the message is the polar opposite of what God’s love is all about.  But, someone wrote this song – and they wrote it from a place of pain, and little hope.  And, there are many who hear this song and likely feel a connection.

SO, here enters the 3^rd song that I have been listening to a lot – perhaps technically a Christmas song, but not one of the more traditional ones - and certainly not this presentation of it.  It's not short, but it's worth every minute of your time. [not my own discovery, but this was the 1st video my pastor used for an Advent play list that I can not figure out how to include a link to...]

What I love about the message in this recording, is that it acknowledges the grief and lack of hope that many have, but by the end of the song transforms it into an understanding of the gift of unconditional love that the season is all about.  A understanding that even in the midst of our grief and turmoil, we have a God that will always love us, and never gives up on us.  And that’s a gift that will always top the charts.

Wishing you an Advent full of Hope, Peace, Joy and LOVE!

Grateful for Change

Lepers??  Already?  I almost sighed when I sat down to do this week's Sunday School lesson.  If there is any story I think I have taught as much as Jesus' birth and death, and Noah's Ark...it's the lepers. [the abridged version:  10 lepers healed, only one comes back to say thanks].

It's all about gratitude.  And, I got to thinking - well, that's one area I do OK on.  I've got other issues, but I got very full of myself thinking how well I think I do with gratitude.  But can we ever have enough?  Should we ever be content that we have shown enough gratitude?  Not really.  And I was reminded on this dreary day of some of the things I'll be forever grateful for:

1)  Five years ago I was in the midst of packing up our life for a brief stint 600 miles away from my children.  A medical crisis would keep us apart for the better part of 2 months, and it would take our family a long time to get back to "normal", but in the end healing had occurred.  Our life was changed in many ways.  And for that I am grateful.

2)  A year ago I was wallowing in self-pity, as my life "plans" had been dashed and I was about to have surgery from which I feel I have really only just fully recovered.   But in the end, healing had occurred.  And again, I was changed.  And for that I am grateful.

3)  Last weekend I spent 48 hours with children many of whom could not speak, would never ride a bike, or be given a list of chores.  Simple every day things I watched my kids do last Sunday when I got home.  I am not sure if I was overcome by grief or gratitude as the tears poured down my cheeks.  But I was changed yet again.  And for that I am grateful.

Most people don't like change.  I don't either.  It's not exactly enjoyable.  But funny, in the end I seem to end up grateful because of it.     

What changes are you grateful for?

Going out on a Limb

"Be willing to go out on a limb with Me.  If that is where I am leading you, it is the safest place to be."

I read these words in a daily devotional a friend sends out and they really struck me.  I have never been a tree climber.  I don't have a fear of heights or anything like that (I LOVE roller coasters)..it just never felt comfortable.  Comfortable.  It's a word I've been thinking about a lot lately.

 I've also never felt particularly comfortable around people with special needs.  Yet, there I was, in a pool of 3 feet deep water, hanging out with a bunch of kids who could not communicate (at least with their mouth).  At first, I'll admit, it was really weird.  Some of the kids were even wheel-chair bound and prone to seizures - but I could still see how they enjoyed the water as they floated in their vests.  By the end of the three hours, I had made a bunch of new friends!  

As many of you know, over the past year, the challenges that face families dealing with children with special needs (especially in the ministry environment) has become dear to me.  I may not have any children with these challenges, but God has put many of them in my path through out my ministry work.  I have listened to many stories of families that struggle with these challenges and felt called to pursue a more dedicated effort to learn more about what can be done.   One of the opportunities I found is a special weekend camp...and, it takes place at the same great camp site Kim went to this summer!

This October, I am joining fellow church members as we host a weekend in Middleburg, VA for a group of 10 children children between the ages of 9-13.  These are children who have specific intellectual disabilities and our group will spend 3 days being their buddy. By doing so, we grant their parents a weekend of respite.

Oxygen Three is the coordinator of this program, and is an outreach of Jill's House.  You can read more about the program here:  Oxygen 3.   I have never been more impressed with an organization.  We have been supported and encouraged by words and prayer through every step in this process.  I have recently begun volunteering at Jill's House and love how organized they are.  They make sure to use the talents of the folks who serve them and it is truly a pleasure to walk in those doors.

Maybe you do not feel you are called to work with these children - it is, admittedly, not a fit for everyone's gifts.  Really,  I never thought it would be for me either.  But if you can't help these kids in person, would you go out on a limb and help others to help them by sponsoring our team?  Just click on the link below.  We are truly grateful for any support you can contribute to our effort.

Oxygen Three Team Fundraising Page

   

What I learned in August

What I learned in August - 

thanks Emily Freeman for giving us space to reflect on these things...love her blog at Chatting at the Sky.  

- It's really fun to drive fast in a cool car in the desert! 

  - How to roar!

 - How to set up a website all on my own.  It's not great, but not bad for a work in progress.

 - That I can survive an entire 5 days and never once read an email message.  

 - That even after over 20 years, me and my best friend can have a blast in a place we have been every year for 8 years running.

- That even though I think I should know better, I still love that I am amazed by Gods perfect timing, if I just let go of my inner control freak.

 -  I can spend three hours in a pool with kids who can not speak with their mouth - and I was way more comfortable doing that than I would have ever imagined. 

 - That I CAN say no to something even when every fiber of my being wants to say yes.

 - That I LOVE Jane Austen !  

 - That some people consider me  bold.  Which both delights me and scares the crap out of me!

Go with the Gs

"You know, it's more enjoyable when you just relax and go with the Gs."  

And there you had it.  It explained everything.  All day I had been trying so hard to use pure strength to control the reaction of my body to the twists and turns.  Some times it worked.  But something was off.  It was not as enjoyable as it was just a month ago.  

So the last time through, I just let it go.  Just go with the Gs.

That would be G-forces.  And my son was talking about our day of riding roller coasters.  When pure force takes control of your body as you zoom upside down.  He may have been talking coasters...but if he only knew how much deeper his words cut. 

It's been a crazy week.  It wasn't supposed to be.  And its not even over yet.  I am not quite sure what happened, but by the time my son and I left for our day of fun, I was wound pretty tight and felt kind of like this:

There is a lot of stuff happening.  Good stuff.  But it's not stuff I can manage with a "list".  In fact, I know much of what I have been working on these days will not succeed if I cling to "the list".  But... I need a list.  So, this week I spent way too much time trying to make a list that can't be made.  And it was totally stressing me out, and I knew it was stressing me out.  And then I got stressed about stuff that didn't get done while I was stressed.  Like cleaning my kitchen floor.  

Sigh.  Don't I know better by now?

By the time we left the amusement park today, I was more relaxed than I had been in a while.  And then we got home, and an image came across my Facebook page and I just laughed.  Yes, a real LOL. Martha, Martha, Martha.  There you go again.  There was this lovely image depicting the 3 characters in the Martha/Mary/Jesus story.  Which made me realize I had no idea what the weekly lectionary texts were. Which made me realize I had missed a LOT of days with my bible.  And I spent most of the week stressed?  Duh.

God is doing amazing things in my life right now.  I have no idea what I'm doing, where its going, or what it means.  I am just trying to see daily where it leads and make the best decisions one can make when the information available is scant.  It drives my inner Martha totally insane.  

But I need to remember that the crazier it gets, the more important it is to get that quiet start to the day. To turn it over to God even before the coffee kicks in and people start asking you to do things.  It means some things people ask won't get done, and someone will end up annoyed.  And I hate that, cause I am a people pleaser.  My inner Mary gets squashed on a daily basis if I don't start out with her in front leading the way.  Or should I say, on her knees at Jesus' feet.  It IS the better part.

Getting Goofy

I was at a meeting recently with a woman I am going to be team-teaching with next fall.  We had never met and were just getting to know each other and our teaching philosophy.  At the end I said, "Here is my bottom line - learning about Jesus and the bible should be ENJOYABLE.  And sometimes that means getting a little goofy".    

So many people see Christians as a group of people who take themselves way to seriously.  And I wouldn't want to do anything disrespectful - but we are talking about GOOD NEWS.  Life-giving stuff!! Jesus himself saw the value in sharing JOY.  After all, his first miracle was making more wine at a wedding feast!

Yes, I am Presbyterian.  No, I do not clap in church.  Yes, I sit very still and orderly during worship.  No, I will not wear blue jeans.  

And every now and then, that drives me crazy.  SO, I feel the urge to get a little goofy.  Goofy for God.

SO, I am loving an idea I saw at one of my favorite resource sites about Flat Jesus (check out "Worshiping with Children" on Facebook).  Yes , think Flat Stanley if you are familiar with that line of books.  To make a short story even shorter - my church has embarked on a Flat Jesus campaign this summer and you can read more about it HERE.

At first I was thinking it was just a nice way to stay connected over the summer, see what people are up to, and provide a way to tell stories via photos.  But, over the past 2 weeks, Flat Jesus has become more than just a "goofy" way to connect church members - for me it has really been a way to demonstrate how to live (or not live) our Christian life, and what can happen when we are more intentional about that.

Here are some highlights from the first two weeks with my Flat Jesus….

• I made him quickly and immediately felt the need to share him.  Yes - this is what we are called to do as Christians!  Except so far I have really only shared him with fellow Christians.  Next time he goes WITH me into the Wegmans!  Maybe we get some fish :)

• On the days I literally had my Flat Jesus in my car with me, he really was every where with me.  The other days he hung out on my dining room table. I am fairly certain my thoughts and behaviors on the days with vs. without Jesus had distinct differences. Who knew a piece of paper would serve as such a strong reminder of how we are to act in the world.  

• On the days I had my Flat Jesus with me, I saw the joy he brought others.  Nobody could resist him!  When people see the joy, he is irresistible.  Irresistible.

Flat Jesus probably won't change the world - but if getting goofy for God brings joy to others and gives me a reminder of what I need to be doing, then I'll go with it!

You want to get goofy for God?  Make your own Flat Jesus - get a blank template HERE.  Have fun with it, and show others how having Jesus in your life is enjoyable!