Be an ice cube - STAT

The Alli Orchid

This orchid was given to me by my daughter, Alli, for Mother's Day 2013. It is delicate, beautiful and strong. A lot like my daughter. She is small, fine boned and beautiful but she has a great inner strength. For this plant it is a good thing because my neglect tried to kill this beautiful plant.  I placed it where it would be safe from dogs, rowdy boys and the craziness of our life. Alli said she was told to just put an ice cube in it once a week or maybe it was every day. I can't really remember and I am sure I probably never got the story straight to begin with. I am that way with plant life. I defer. I defer to my husband, my friend Ingrid, basically anyone that will take the responsibility away from me. I might have forgotten to delegate this life form to Joe that day, although to my defense he should know me well enough to know all plant gifts are his responsibility, really. My history with plants, as with this orchid unfortunately is not a good one.

I can raise kids. I can raise pets. I can raise a ruckus but please don't ask me to raise plants. It is for the plant's benefit, really. Maybe I lack patience to understand the delicate needs of individual plants. Maybe I lack the gifts needed to take care of these plants. Maybe I secretly could care less about plants. (eek, that may be too close to the truth.) Now before you think I am some warped psychopath, let me qualify that idea. I love to eat vegetables, I like looking at flowers and I really appreciate the way certain flowers make my yard look. There is nothing like a surprise gift of the occasional bouquet. So I have a love for all things flora in some way or another. I just don't love the care and feeding of something that can't hug back.

By the time Joe found the orchid it appeared to be dead. A lone stick, sticking out of the small green, plastic pot it came in, carefully stashed on top of the china hutch in the dining room. (Did I mention rowdy boys and pets?) I felt awful and said, maybe we should get an ice cube STAT! Joe lovingly told me the whole ice cube ship had sailed. This orchid was going to need a Messiah-like resurrection. As you can tell from the picture above, that is what it got! Joe Mowdy put the stick, pot and all in the window (who knew sun was need for plants???) and some actual water of the non-frozen variety. He gave the week stick some stability by allowing it to lean on a real stick. Joe's nurturing attention resurrected the beautiful orchid. 

I may not resurrect near dead plants, but I pray that in my humanness I can be the one that brings moisture to an arid soul. The one that provided stability to one tossing in the wind, brings the light into darkness. We can all be that for someone. Are you?

As Christians, Luke reports that Jesus tells us to do "more" than required for others. And to not take more than we need from others. (Luke 3:10-11) Jesus had a pattern of urging us to feed people, care for them, teach them - show love. 

I am going to go out on a limb here and say all of us, at one time or another, have been the stick in the pot, clinging to life with what little inner resources we have remaining. Maybe there are a few of you that have never needed someone else... I hope not. I really feel if we are honest we have. I have. More than once I have had to rely on others. Maybe in expertise. Thank goodness there are autism experts and medical people to help navigate that maze in our lives. (Thank you Dawn and Dr. Lyst) Sometimes in sheer support. God brought Joe into my life at the perfect time. The first year we were married I lost my Grandmother, my Mother and almost my life in a cancer related health crisis. Sometimes the best support I receive is in accountability. I have friends that call me on it when I am fooling myself. (And a daughter, Thank you Jill) The list of Monica supporters is endless. There was a time when I felt that relying on others was a sign of weakness. (OK, friends I still feel that way, I know!) But a good friend once told me, "Monica, when you try to do everything yourself, you are keeping another from fulfilling their calling as a Christian."

Yes, we are all called to do something, more, for others. So in community we lean and we support. We take and we give. We love and we are loved. It is in these actions we hold in tension the balance of life in Christ. 

The result.... beauty.

Making Room at the Table

Today's post is quite late in the day. My typical routine is to get up around 4:30 AM and then I read from various books, A Guide for Prayer for All Who Seek God, Wesley's A Christian Habit, and whatever books are feeding me at the moment. I spend some time in silent prayer, (see yesterday's post, , The Profit of Silence) and usually God inspires me to say something.

Today was a shift in routine. This is what occupied my early hours.

Food Pantry Distribution

The church I serve takes Jesus' expectation of his followers to feed the hungry quite literally and seriously. One Saturday a month we distribute boxes of food to people that need food. It is a simple equation.

NO FOOD + A BOX OF FOOD = CABINETS ND BELLIES ARE NOT EMPTY. 

It isn't rocket surgery. Sadly, most of the folks that visit our pantry are elderly suddenly faced with the task of raising their grandchildren. We fill and distribute close to 100 boxes a month. If we had more we could give more. If we opened weekly we would give away food weekly. 

I don't ever remember a time when there wasn't something in the kitchen to cook or fix to feed myself or my family. It may have been "surprise casserole" but we always ate. 

Surprise !!!

According to the Children's Defense Fund publication, The State of America's Children, 1 in 9 children live in households where food is insecure. So we do a meager effort to feed a few of those children.  What if...what if everyone fed someone. If it is only one in 9 and the average household size is 2.55 (according to the U.S. Census)  then each family that could feed a child could feed 2 or 3. It is easy, find a church that feeds like ours and share food, money, or time. Help organizations like, Feed America First or Second Harvest to provide low cost food to organizations like ours. But do something.

I would like to submit that the glory is in the doing. Writing a check, buying extra food at the store is great. But I love getting to know the regulars that come to us each month. I love building those relationships. It is great to get to know their grandkids, struggles and successes. It is so awesome when they see you as a friend and light up when they show you the latest picture of the new grandchild. 

I get to hear about highs, lows, sadnesses and frustrations in their lives. They ask me about my life, my family and the church. I could never do this with the writing of the check or worse yet the turning of the back.

Its all about making room for others in our lives.

The Profit of Silence

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Movement said in his book, The Christian's Pattern, "I seek a convenient time to retire into thyself. Meddle not with curiosities." 

Sheesh curiosities! That is what gets me. I am akin to Doug the ADD Labrador from the Disney Pixar movie, UP! I can not just sit in silence in enjoyment of the moment with out fidgeting, looking for something to read, engage with  or wonder about. How in the world does God even talk to me - EVER??

Squirrel

Last Sunday, I encouraged the youth group in our church to o kid's minutes during worship. It was different than all the others. They didn't speak, they didn't preach, they just went up and took the children and "did" something for them. Some of them read to the children, some of them sang with the children, some of the drew pictures with the children and one even washed the feet of a small toddler. 
Then never spoke. It lasted a mere two minutes...two minutes of unbearable silence. The adults were looking around, fidgeting, even towards the end of the two minutes began to whisper. When one girls stood up and proclaimed to the congregation and children, "LOVE - Put it into practice and walked off the congregation was stunned. The silence prepared them for them most profound message in a way talking could not have.

Trust me, after spending three days with 18 youth in a park (and in a van) I come home craving silence. I seek to find that time. I don't though because I really don't want it when I get it. I turn the television on for noise, I find something to do.

Maybe I don't really like those people that take up residence in my head and speak to me non-stop. Maybe I have nothing of value to ponder. Maybe I am afraid of what thoughts will come to me as I just sit there. But could silence prepare me for something more profound?

A study of 580 undergraduate students undertaken over six years, reported by Bruce Fell shows that the constant exposure to background media du to ease of access has created people who literally fear silence. Couple this information with research by Dr. Michael Bittman of the University of New England and Dr. Mark Sipthorp of the Australian Institute of Family Studies argues that our need for noise and struggle with silence is a "learned behavior." 

How do we unlearn the need for noise. Do we even need to? Do we need this time in silence. For believers of God it is during silence that God speaks to us through the Holy Trinity. Jesus can teach us, the Holy Spirit can shape us. More importantly God can grant us that peace that passes all understanding. 

The Quaker movement that began after the Reformation, began with a practice of silence in corporate and personal worship. This silence is considered safe and speaking is considered folly. They try to abstain from even entertaining their own thoughts. It is during this time that God can speak into the silence.

Do those of us that do not participate in a practice of silence miss out on hearing from God. I don't know. I am sure I have heard from God. He probably has to work much harder to get through the noise; baseball bats, two-by-fours, knocking me down. I spend a couple of hours in devotional time daily as a spiritual discipline, but in actual silence, with no thoughts in my head...yeah...that will be tough. Really tough!! But I think I am going to try it. I mean really? Who couldn't use some wisdom and peace from God. 

John Wesley again, "In silence and stillness a religious soul profits. O how great peace and quietness he would possess, and think only on Divine things that are profitable for the soul."

Shhhhhhh I am listening to silence.

Level Playing Field

See these kids?

HUMC Church Youth at Metamorpho Retreat

They are all the same.  Really. Don't you look at all children and think - Wow! these kids are all the same? Heck no! I have worked with children for years and found that I have never said, "Those kids are just alike." 

Look at the kid furthest left. He's mine! He has autism. He is NOT into running. At all! The guy in the middle belongs to a friend of mine. He is an accomplished athlete.  That girl next to him, she is a sweet girl and has just started running to prepare for a long awaited return to soccer. And that girl in front, the one not really running, but super cute, yeah, she doesn't really run, anywhere. Ever! But yet they are running, with smiles on their faces and steadfast determination.

These kids are just alike, in this moment, they are the same, they have the same shot at accomplishing this task. What is the task you say? Finishing an obstacle course in pairs of three after finding your partners. Simple and silly game, yes! But much fun as evidenced by their faces. The joy comes from the fact that in this game everyone had an equal chance at accomplishing the task at hand. My son's autism didn't matter, there was no advantage to being an athlete new or seasoned. All you needed was willingness and a good sense of humor.

Folks, this is what puts us all on a level playing field; willingness and a sense of humor. lack of these two components might also be what keeps us from succeeding. These two traits are God given; humor and willingness. In the light of the seriousness of life, how many of us put these two God born gifts in their original packaging and place them high on a shelf in the scary closet. (You know, the closet that we all just stash stuff in and quickly close the door lest something falls on our head.) 

Why in the world would we take the two gifts that make us as strong, able and prepared to take on the world and hide them away from ourselves??

Being a willing participant in life enables God to equip us for what life throws at us. Being willing gives us that attitude to say, "Come on new experience, try and kick my butt! Cuz you can't!" 

It might but being willing gives us the data needed to achieve that task on a second (or 12th) try PLUS the added bonus of that we gain from reliance on God. FYI - God is capable, able and has a complete tool belt to enable us for whatever.

Having a sense of humor actually keeps us from failing! WHAT??? If you can't do something but don't allow it to defeat you, destroy you - yet laugh in the face of the monster named "Loser" then you win! Added bonus, Joy wins! Fun ensues and the world is a much better place. 


"There is hope for the future because God has a sense of humor and we are funny to God."

Bill Cosby

Back to the picture - Do you see it??? I see it. Even on the face of my son who rarely smiles. Its there look. it is 

JOY

FUN

FREEDOM

The ability to run with the big dogs, play with the cool kids and the satisfaction of a level playing field.

See this - Level playing field. They are all using their willingness and senses of humor to untangle the knot I put them in. 

Maybe you should try!

When was the last time you just gave life a chuckle and dove in??

The Voice of Truth

Tragedy makes you think...or at least it should. This past week a tragedy has struck our small town. I won't discuss the tragedy, the people or the situation here as it only sensationalizes the story and disrespects the lives of those touched. A good friend posted the following quote the other day:

"To a philosopher all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old women over their tea."
Henry David Thoreau

I will say almost everyone has an opinion, version or speculation about what led up to, transpired and evolved. Why do we do that? Why is it important to know everything about a tragedy. Is it because we can cope better? Maybe in understanding we can have closure? I am not sure but I am sure of one thing. We never really know the truth.

Even the most truthful person can only tell their version of a situation. Years ago a youth group learning experience led me to have a person burst into the room, run around and leave quickly. I asked the kids to describe the intruder. They all saw the same person at the same time for the same length of time yet I received many varied descriptions. As humans we are given a set of glasses at birth. They are our worldview glasses. These glasses are scratched, smudged and tinted through out time by our life's experiences. As we peer at happenings through these glasses the experiences themselves are shaped in our vision by what has happened to us, more importantly what has shaped how we see things. So truth-telling is shaped by how we see events in our life.

The truth is also shaped by our involvement in a situation. How we are connected to those involved will shape our objectivity. It is hard to see evil intent in someone we love, it is easy to see harmful motives in someone that has a lifetime of poor choices. B

My Mom always said of her failed choices in men, "Hindsight is 20/20" meaning as we set, in a calmer, timely examination of our choices it is easy to plot and plan how the situation may have gone down if we were there; what we would have done, or not done; we can make perfect choices. In that close, methodical dissection of a tragedy, we are able to paint a picture that may be far from the truth because tragedies rarely unfold in in a slow, planned environment. Sometimes things just happen. In the moment. With absolutely no planning.

Now I am married to an amazing man. He is very brilliant. Many would never know because he rarely speaks. (Some might say it is because he never gets the chance but my world view glasses tell me he could just doesn't.) He spoke the other day after listening to his employees hashing, re-hashing and inflating the details of this town tragedy. He spoke and said this, 
                                         We will never know the truth.
                                         We wouldn't know the truth even if the one that can't speak could                                              and even if the one that won't speak did.
                                         We will never know the truth but the third story, the one that                                                          contains the truth lies somewhere in the middle and it has no voice                                            of its own.

truth is usually silent

Are You That Kind of Christian???

Saturday, mid-end of my vacation week, was spent with church family at an outdoor Christian concert out of town. Many acts were scheduled through out the day but thanks to heat hotter than the gates of Hell and torrential freezing down pours we only got to see about half. I did however, send a lot of time observing my fellow Christians. Yes, I am that Christian! Always looking for the stereo-typical Christian. WARNING: The following sentences will contain descriptions of people I saw. These descriptions are not judgements - just observations. There were people raising there hands worshipping during music and those shopping but obviously listening. 

There were people helping others and those in deep, spiritual prayer and conversation with God. Some just walked from booth to booth looking for more information from colleges, vendors and churches. There were some dressed in conservative, prescribed attire in accordance with the doctrine of their faith tradition.

And those of us that dressed with one sole purpose - to be covered but cool (as in not sweltering). 

Did I mention that it was really, really hot!

Some may have missed the memo on "covered."  (Sorry no pictures allowed for this one!)

We Christians come in all different shapes, sizes, ages, customs and worship styles. There really isn't that stereo-typical Christian.

What does this mean for we Christians that profess to believe in the same God, the same religion and follow the same Christ? 

It means that we are different in how we live out our faith but what is important is that we have faith in God through Christ and through the passion and guidance of the Holy Spirt we actually do live out that faith.

Being Christian doesn't mean we dress a certain way, we raise our hands (or don't raise our hands) when we praise, we live in a third world country giving our lives in mission or we sculpt our hair in a slick, tall hair do and passionately preach warnings from the pulpit. Only two things are required to call yourself a Christian; connection and compassion.  John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement used the terms "piety and mercy".  Jesus called it "loving God with all you have" and "considering others with the same priority you would give to your own life." Also known as the Great Commandment mentioned in three of the Gospels, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27

Concentrating on what we "look like" can mess up our witness to the world. JW  in as early as the late 18th century wrote this very warning. "If we place our progress in religion only in outward observances, our devotion will quickly be at an end." 

How many times have we made a judgment about someone's depth of faith based on what they wear or how much they do for the church or worse yet how and when they pray? It is that they do! Do what you ask? Pray - Look to God - Go to God - Go to others - Reach Out - Love Real. Bishop Robert Schnase describes our life in Christ as living with "praying hands and dirty fingernails." Or in more Victorian terms; Piety and Mercy. Thank you John Wesley.

Christians live their life in Christ by loving the Lord with all they have at their disposal, prayer, meditation, fasting, study, worship (aka piety). But is there more? Do we - can we love God in a more complete way; with our WHOLE heart? WE can! By loving His people. Some people call them external spiritual disciplines (or mercy); evangelism or sharing the love of Christ into the lives of others, being a great steward of God's resources so that we all have plenty, serving others or loving your neighbor as yourself. 

So what kind of Christian are you? The one that gives all he has for those undeserved by the world? That lives simply so others may live? That gives of their times and hearts to all those in need of help and support?

Or are you the type of Christian that is inside the church every time the doors are open and the first to rush the altar to pray? Do you spend hours upon hours praying and meditation upon the Holy Word of God? 

Which are you? YOU SHOULDN'T BE EITHER! Really!!! For real!!!

Following Christ (the true definition of being a Christian) requires BOTH praying hands AND dirty fingernails. 

"Acts of mercy and acts of piety are like wings of a bird; without either one, we cannot fly." Martyn Akins of the British Methodist Church.

Can't you just love the Lord - or can't you just be great and giving to others? Not really. Nor can you help others without "attending to the ordinances of God"; a fancy way of saying remembering the sabbath, keeping it holy, talking AND listening to God, studying to know more and living of life connected to the Body of Christ. 

So you need to be in church, praying, worshipping, studying - WORKING TO STAY IN LOVE WITH GOD! Without that you cannot be effective in leading others to Christ - you will only be loving with your inadequate, human love instead of God infused love. 

But you also cannot just attend church, pray, read devotionals at home and have a getting to a point where you feel you and God are like this:

Beeeecaaauuusssee if you and God are that close then you would know He wants you to love other with His love. If you don't know then you must not be listening.

So... Go...Be... that kind of Christian! This kind:

This is my friend Jenn at the concert. She is in shorts, hands raised but holding Apple Pie soda and an alien balloon animal for our precious youth that ran to go talk to a college rep. Always serving - always loving - always praising!

Lessons from Miss Sassafras

One of my vacation endeavors was to spend a day with Miss Sassafras. Miss Sassafras is my 15 month old granddaughter. I had dreams of calling her "Grandprincess" but Miss Sassafras rolls right off the tongue. If you have met her you would understand. She is brilliant, beautiful and a product of some crazy genetics; most of which shine through. But mostly she is sassy. Not bad sassy, just bright, independent with an opinion!

Yesterday I learned some lessons from Miss Sass! I feel as though I should share them!

1.   SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO WALK AROUND WITHOUT A PLAN.

Yesterday, we took Sassy to the beach. We followed her. Now we may have had plans of castle building, boat riding, fish observing.  But she had different plans. She wanted to pick up rocks, squish her toes in the sand, eat a bit of sand and splash the water. Her plan was just fine! And by following her, we experienced things that weren't on our agenda. I observed sights and shared experiences I wouldn't have otherwise. I often miss out when I am on a mission with blinders on a to do list in my hand.

2.   ANYTHING HAS VALUE IF WE DEEM IT TO BE.

Miss S loves rocks. Not necessarily pretty rocks. Really more the kind you use as ground cover in your flowerbeds or use for your driveway. She collects them. My daughter lets her. She doesn't discourage her because to a growing mind, these rocks are beautiful, important and hers.  Wouldn't it be great if we chose to value things that we tend to devalue; people, emotions, situations instead of sparklies? We all might need to check our value placement.

http://youtu.be/mC5P234Fs8s

3.   IT'S OK TO SAY "NO" IN SOME INSTANCES.

Sassafras loves to say "no"; possibly when she really even means "yes." For a toddler, the word "no" really means I have an opinion and I an not going to do it just because you want me to! How often do we do something, engage in a behavior, just because we don't want to be "that guy", the one who says, "no." She is learning, however, to say "no Peeeeze" and "tank you". It's all good. I wonder how my life would have been different if I would have said "no" instead of "yes."

4.   IF YOU HAVE NEVER HAD A SMARTIE A BLUEBERRY IS CANDY.

My daughter has wisely kept this child's diet clean, healthy and extra sugar free. She is smart enough to realize she won't be able to keep it this way for ever but she wants to delay the inevitable; encourage healthy habits. Miss Sassy is a great, albeit messy, eater. Blueberries are her crack! I guess it is never to late to adopt a healthy attitude. Maybe not a lesson I want to learn! 

5.   A PLEASANT ATTITUDE WILL TAKE YOU FAR

Miss S wanted to play with another child's toys, knock down another child's castle and and two simple words and a beautiful smile gained her permission; please and thank you.  She only knows a few words but these are two she uses often.  What a gift her mom and dad gave her teaching her that being kind, nice and pleasant helps to smooth your path. How many times do we react with unkind, hateful words. Scripture teaches us when someone is ugly give them the best kindness. It will "heap burning coals upon there heads." (No actual coals were used in the writing of this blog.) But what this means is when you don't allow someone to destroy your character by the absence of theirs, you win! (It also always keeps 'em wondering)

I pass on these five gifts to you, gifts of a simpler, kinder healthier life. I pray we all become a little more sassy.

Of Hairballs and Life

Blame the fact that I just started a new book (and finished) called, Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordan MacKenzie or blame it on the fact that where I live they are putting up the hay fields and I what feels like a giant hairball in my throat but either I am pondering hairballs this morning.

MacKenzie's book deals with change and leadership and the rules of an institution but the principal is sound in so many areas of our life. Hairballs are giant, knotted strands of hair; one woven in and out of a another, in an accumulated and tangled mass. We create them all the time. Not actual hairballs, but figurative hairballs. We make them out of relationships when we get entangled with others to the point we lose ourselves. Sometimes, we create them when we work ourselves deep into a situation we would have been better served to walk away from. 

The worst hairballs I deal with are the ones I have created myself or have seen created in others around the understanding of scripture. Overtime, misunderstanding, or misuse of scripture has created guidelines, rules, standards and modes of living that become set in stone. Rigidity is placed in our lives to control us or control or selves. Every new rule created, is another hair for the hairball.

Let me give you an example. As a small child,  I struggled with telling the truth. Around the ages of 3 and 4, I would "embellish" the truth, often to escape punishment for something I am sure I didn't mean to do. My Grandmother, I am sure out of desperation, told me that God sent a plague of boils on the Egyptians for not heading the words of God. God didn't want me to lie so the sore I had just began suffering from, clearly was sign from God that I had told a lie. To this day, if i get a small fever blister in my mouth, I am frantically trying to figure out if I mistakenly told a lie to someone. 

Eventually the hairy mass of entangled rules becomes heavy, burdensome and overbearing. It ends up either pulling us down into a life (abundant life) threatening position or we become choked to the point of ridding ourself of the hairball, God's Holy Word included. 

A hairball disables us from taking in nourishment of it is large enough. We find that we are unable to truly feast on the life found in Scripture because the hairball is in the way. Everything we read, instead of being digested is wrapped up in the hairball and added to the existing set rules within the hairball. no new deep and meaningful understanding can come from life in the Word. Every word is formed in your mind through the lens of fuzzy, tangled knots of misunderstanding. It entraps you. Snares your thinking. Robs you of creativity and life. These tangled, preconceived, notions keep you from "hearing" what God has for you. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Movement said in reference to reading scripture, "Inquire willingly, and hear with silence the words of holy men." The silence we need to hear with is born out of listening with out the swirl of rules and knotted up beliefs passed down through years mis-teaching.

I am not proposing that with life in Christ, in the Word we are free to believe what ever we will and that will be no changes in how we are expected to live life. But what I find is the hairball, as I have describes keeps us from understanding God through His voice, not the voice of others who have lacked understanding, or have used scripture to control, or have read it through a hazy lens of their own.

What I propose we do is free ourselves of the hairball. Pray that God guide our understanding of scripture, read more than scripture, read the works of others that been examples of God working through them in a mighty way. Weigh what we read against the totality of scripture. What does God say about a specific topic throughout scripture. Reflect upon what God is teaching us in that reading. Most importantly, read; read scripture for yourself, read it for you; read.

Go Kravitz someone (Gladys not Lenny)

Darn it! I missed Bonnaroo* again! I never think about going until I hear who was there. this year I missed Elton John, a whole bunch of other bans that I have never heard of (and a few I have), and Kanye West. I am not sure I feel sad about that. I understand the near 80,000 fans where more taken with his new bride, Kim Kardashian who reportedly arrived to the muddy fields of Manchester, TN in white pants, heels and a white see through top. I was going to insert a photo from the concert but it really WAS a see through top. For real.

Honestly, other than Elton I have no desire other than curiosity to go to Bonnearoo. Funny emotion, curiosity. It can bring us to a small, otherwise sleepy town, in Tennessee for 4 nights out of the year, it can cause us to pick up a People Magazine, or a National Inquirer (or at least nonchalantly read them in the grocery store check out line). Curiosity is what makes TV shows like Honey Boo Boo and I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant stay on television. We want to know what is going on in the world or at least the world media tells us exists. In our family we call that the "Mrs. Kravitz Syndrome." Remember her? the nosy neighbor on Bewitched TV series of the 60's? 

Poor Gladys was always sticking her nose in where it didn't belong, being curious, or some would call being nosey. She would peer out her window from behind the curtain, watching the goings on across the street at Darrin and Samantha's house. But is being nosey all that bad, terrible, will it really kill a cat??? How horrible would it be if you stepped out from behind that curtain and got to know those on your street. 

Maybe if we turned our natural bent towards curiosity towards things that could change our lives. What if we really spent our Dance Mom/Honey Boo Boo time into walking our neighborhoods really getting to know real people? What if we quit worrying about some girl made famous by us because "her father defended an football player accused of murdering his wife and her unfortunate teenage sex tape going public" and worried more about the kid walking past our house everyday after school, head down, face blank and feet shuffling. Is she hungry? Does he hate going home? Does she just need a friend?

What if we just sat on our porch and made ourselves available to those around us? Lifted our eyes to meet the eyes of those who need to be seen. Welcomed them into our sphere of recognition. Let our face soften in a way that says, "hello" instead of "what the heck!"

Poor Gladys, she wasn't so popular with the Stephens family because they were afraid she would catch Samantha twitching her nose and I am sure that sticking our nose into the lives of others could be costly as well. We could make a friend that may not have developed the skills to be a good friend or has been hurt by the world so many times they hurt first before they can be harmed. Maybe someone will take advantage of us or lie about us or misunderstand us.

But maybe, just maybe, someone needs you to notice them, or look out for them, or see them. Maybe we are called to be hurt some times. Or to give of ourselves in a way that we sacrifice. John the Baptist was quoted in the "Gospel of Luke" as saying, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” (Luke 3:11) He wasn't micromanaging your Good Will donation, he was telling us to give of ourselves to others; not necessarily our stuff but of what we have, time, attention, life; just give.

In order to give you must first notice those in need exist. Pull back that curtain. Walk out your door. Go Kravitz someone!

The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an annual four-day music festival held at Great Stage Park on a 700-acre (2.8 km²) farm in Manchester Tennessee. The festival starts on the second Thursday in June and lasts four days. The main attractions of the festival are the multiple stages of live music. Musical acts play from around noon until 4a.m. or later.

So That

Lesson learned! Smaller bowl~smaller portion! Doh!
(See post from 6-12-14)

Change, learning, conversion is a lifelong process (or should be). Even I can learn something new, as stubborn as I am. I pondered the other day, why I kept grabbing a large cereal bowl, filling full and leaving close to half uneaten. So this morning, I thought to myself, "Hmmm cereal sounds good this morning." Grabbed the same bowl, the same cereal and proceeded to repeat the same action. But this time I stopped before the deed was done, grabbed another, much smaller bowl and poured cereal and milk all the while wondering if it would be enough. It was. Exactly enough.

I did not invent the concept of smaller plates to encourage smaller portions. Have I employed this method? I have now. I knew that the ability to eat cereal differently existed but I had to decide I was willing to go out on a limb and let someone else guide my decisions. 

Bishop Rueben Job wrote, "While conversion requires our decision and action, the grace and strength to be changed - to become more than we are - is the gift of God. Conversion is a partnership process." Conversion is great. We can all be better, more Christ like. I mean really, can anyone argue this point? Unfortunately, in my opinion, what I often see is change for the sake of change. Change in itself is not conversion. 

Why did I need to convert to a more productive cereal eating habit? I need to live out the way I prepared my crunchy, sweet bowl of breakfast goodness so that I would not run out of cereal so quickly, so that I would not waste cereal which cost money, so that I would set a good example for my children....you get the picture. Change is a move in a different direction, sometimes seasonal or temporary. Conversion is a complete transformation into a new way so that we live our life more fully, more completely in the way of God. 

So that...Have you ever asked yourself this question in the face of how and why you decide your life's choices? "I need to go swimming today so that I will spend time with my children in a fun, clean activity that is fun for all of us." "I need to buy new shoes so that...so that...ugh"

Those of us that follow Christ are more in need of the "so that." We need to employ the so that explanation process for ourselves to be sure that we are actually changing, actually allowing God to work through the conversion process, not just moving, or as my Uncle Terry used to say, "running ignorant." 

Running Ignorant

We can't become more than we are - a gift from God if we aren't really moving closer to Him.

Ask God to guide you through the "so thats" in your life. "Lord, I feel the need to invite friends to church so that; more people-more money, we can build that new building, I want more people like me at church? No ~ Obviously none of those really sound like good answers when uttered aloud. When the so that is spoken, god can guide you past your human rationalizations. 

Lord, please lead me to people to invite to church so that together we can take this journey towards you together, so that we can learn from eat other, so that we can travel with Christ, through Christ and all the while bring Christ to the world.

So that...

I dare you to ask your self this today ~ be prepared for true conversion to begin!

Children Go Where I Send Thee

This morning I finally had time to spend a little time with this publication.

The Listing of Appointments for TN Conference UMC Clergy 2014

I enjoy discovering where some of my clergy colleagues have landed after the yearly moves made by the Bishop and his cabinet. Although I know where some friends are headed, some are surprises as I read through the book. 

The biggest question I face as a UM pastor is, "Why do they move you people so much?" The standard answer is:

                       "This unique system of assigning clergy dates back to John Wesley.The bishop 

                        and the cabinet (all district superintendents in the conference) look at 

                        appointment needs throughout the conference, taking into consideration the 

                        needs of each church, the gifts and talents of each pastor, and other 

                        circumstances in the conference. They then determine the appointments for each                               church in the conference. The bishop will "fix" the appointments at the annual                                     conference meeting each year." (From www.umc.org) 

The real answer is that the Bishop and the cabinet, led by God and the needs of the conference as a whole do their level best to place the right spiritual leader for the right church body. Do they always get i right? No, they are human like the rest of us. But they do have a view of a larger picture of the situation that we do in our local churches. 

For us pastors moving (or staying) can be a moment of excitement, where we have a Sally Field, Oscar moment ala Norma Rae.

Or it can be a sad moment feeling as though you have been demoted or left behind. What we forget is that God is able to overcome human failing and our vanity. 

What really lies at the hear of angst at appointment season for both clergy and congregation is found in a statement by Ronald Heifetz, co-founder of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and co-founder of Cambridge Leadership Associates, "People do not fear change, they fear loss...what is familiar, reliable, unknown. Habits, values and attitudes - even those that are barriers to progress - are part of one's identity." Change calls us to let go of what we have become - bad or good, right or wrong.

John Wesley began the process of moving clergy as he began to place pastors through out the new colonies in America. He felt that after a bit a pastor had preached all he had to preach. In fairness, they were called to preach only his sermons for consistency in message so if they ran out I have to wonder where the fault was in that? But seriously, his point seemed to be that over time a number of situations could happen: a loss of looking for leadership in the wrong person, pastors feeling a little too much ownership and the reality that different seasons require different gifts and graces. 

"How many perish in this world, because they rather choose to be great than humble!! therefor they become vain in there imaginations." ~ John Wesley, The Christian's Pattern.

Often as a clergy leader stays it is natural for the people to begin to follow the seen human leadership instead of the true head of a church, Jesus Christ. While a clergy leader is given the responsibility to Order the church, it with the CEO, Christ, guiding that order. Even Moses had to lift the pole with a snake to the Heavens to remind the wandering chosen that their eyes must be lifted to God as the true One.

As a natural leader, with God-given gifts of leadership, I can easily do just that, lead. But it is important to look at what "leading" means. I have a young grand daughter, Amelia. She is beautiful and fun. We call her Miss Sassafras. She IS Sassy. She is independent with a mind of her own. God gave her that mind and we are thankful. Now when she and I go for a walk I could take her hand and lead her the path I wish to take. Well actually I can't because to accomplish that I would have to pick her up and carry her against her will. But... if I let her walk and allow her freedom of movement al the while guiding her directing by showing her points of interest along the way, our paths will eventually become the trajectory I had hoped for. While picking her up, dragging her to the way I want is expedient, she arrives at the destination disgruntled and has missed many great experiences and learning opportunities. 

Amelia and I exploring

This my friends is leading! Not dragging those you have been charged with or manipulating them to love what you love, but to walk with them, allowing them to discover life all the while helping them to find the learning moments that shape their outlook. 

Non-clergy friends, your pastor loves God, loves the Church and loves you. Allow them to go where they are best utilized and embrace the one that comes to leave with an excited anticipation of a great new direction. 

Clergy friends, remember, keep your hands and feet inside the car, pull the safety bar close to you until it clicks and don't exit the car until it comes to a full and complete stop and most of all enjoy the ride!

Thanks Varuca

What you see here is remainder of my breakfast that I am tossing in the trash.

I do this every time I eat Frosted Mini Wheats. I love their crunchy, sugary, yumminess. But I always throw away this much. When I fill the bowl I am convinced I need this much, but when I eat them I can't eat them all. It's what I do. I'm not proud but I do what I shouldn't do although I know I shouldn't do it. (nod to Apostle Paul) 

Not only is throwing away a 1/4 of a serving of cereal a wasteful act and an offense to those doing without food, it is an indication of a mind set I have adopted from the world around me. "I want what I want, as much as I want and I want it now. If there are consequences I will deal with that later." 

This attitude lapses into our everyday choices. I see this attitude in my church family, in my community and in the land of the free and the home of the brave. I see this in myself. What does this desire to have what we want and "I want it now." Thank you Veruca Salt for showing us our worst selves. 

John Wesley wrote in, The Christian Pattern:

                              "It is therefor vanity to seek after perishing riches.

                                It is also vanity to seek honours.

                                It is vanity to follow desires of the flesh, and to labour for that for which thou must

                                afterwards suffer grievous punishment.

                                It is vanity to mind this present life, and not those things which are to come."

Gee thanks John, way to hit us right where it hurts! In a world where our focus is on being the best, the brightest, to amass wealth and we deserve to have it our way because we are to live for today it becomes a constant battle of mankind to do what we know we ought instead of what we want in a world that tells us this vane way of life is what we deserve. 

Is it so wrong to make a living? Making a living is what we are called to do. Proverbs 12:11 tells us, "Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense." So earning money to take care of yourself, your family and others it what is a responsible Kingdom ethic. Making money and using to turn your focus on possessions is a sin. Paul said that is why we have God's law. He says the law is what shows us what we should do. Making money and stuff our focus makes money and idol. All idols other than God are false. Timothy told us that the love of money invites evil into our lives. I don't now about you but I manage to find enough evil with out inviting it into my home.

When my youngest Alli was asked at age seven what she wanted to be she stated she wanted to be the Queen of Mustang, Oklahoma. We quickly explained that America is a democracy we don't have monarchs. "There isn't a Queen of Mustang." "There will be when I get old enough!" A winning mentality is begun at birth, passed from parents to child in hopes of bolstering their confidence and courage to face the world. How is this bad to want to be great? Striving for excellence in all we do for God to bring about the Kingdom of Heaven is actually another Kingdom Ethic. If you were to to Google (I may have...) what does the bible say about having a commitment to excellence there are numerous scriptures telling us that striving for excellence is great but all have a stipulation, "Do it to the glory of God!" DO ALL things to the glory of God. I will leave it to you and your convictions to ponder about such things as praying to win a ball game or thanking God for your latest golden statue. Could be vanity...

As I ponder my overly full tummy and the consequences of such I think back to the big bowl of cereal I made for breakfast. I won't detail the suffering I am enduring due to that massive quantity high fiber I consumed but I will mention no desire of the flesh comes without consequence and leave it at that. The consequence is not God getting cranky because you are being naughty but with every action comes a consequence; bad choice - bad consequence. 

Wesley ended this section on vanity by empathically stating that it is vanity to fill your mind with the things of this world as opposed to the things of which will come. (MRV The Monica Revised Version). 

Let's face it, the things of that will come are hard to wait for. We can't see them. We know they will be good, great, amazing. But we don't KNOW what it will be. We choose what is on the stage instead of what is behind door #3. So we choose the seen luxuries of life or the unseen fortune of the future. It is a hard choice the seen versus the unseen. The feel good verses a feeling we can't begin to imagine. But what it...what if we quit worrying about what is in it for us and begin to just think of someone besides ourself. How would that resinate in the Kingdom. Start small. Pour less cereal, buy fewer toys, give more, hoard less. Do the math, a little adds up. A small amount goes far.