Category Archives: Uncategorized

All is Calm, All is Bright…

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The office project which began in January is now complete.   Space that is organized is a pleasure to work in. Beautiful new shelving and file cabinets keep everything close at hand. There is plenty of sunlight and open space. Comfortable seating and peaceful colors provide a contemplative atmosphere. There is a place for children to play quietly if parents need time to chat. I even have a spot for visiting dogs including my puppy, Ruby.

When God ordered creation, God made space by separating the waters. Space allows for new life to grow and new creation to come forth. Each of us needs space in order for us to grow and become co-workers with God in creation. Many people contributed to the renewal of this space, I am grateful for the way they shared their gifts and love. Making space builds community. Whether it be at home, or work or even outdoors, making space provides welcome for others. It is in welcoming others into relationship that new creation is born.

I look forward to many new “birthings” in this space.

On Our Knees

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As you can see, there is amazing progress being made in my office. Look at these beautiful new bookshelves! There is light shining through clear to the sanctuary! The renovation is coming into the homestretch. This is when prayer is needed the most. Getting closer to our goal, the climb gets steeper requiring us to slow down. Spending time on our knees is not always fun. But time on our knees gives us an opportunity to listen for God, to allow God to direct our words and deeds, and to work in union with God’s plan.

Worn out and tired by the disarray of our lives, sometimes the only place to go is down. Our knees hit the floor in brokenness. I think this is the message of Holy Week.  We are not just to admire God, but to follow God. Maybe like the ancient disciples, we want to flee the scene. But following Christ is about accepting a journey to the cross. Instead of operating poised on strength alone, we walk towards our weaknesses, as imperfect people, risking sharing our true selves and finding transformation when we learn that the tomb which we thought was empty has revealed a whole new creation.

So don’t fall asleep this week, bend your knees and find the cross emerging victoriously in your life.

Belonging

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I love it when I notice something new happening, like the renovation in my office I have been blogging about here these last few weeks. Though I have to say, I am ready for things to be set right again, in the usual order. Today, God captured my attention in the image of a kind of “blooming bush,”  (photo above) and helped me to remember that even things that seem out of place belong.

Precious things grow in creative new patterns when we allow them to. Blooms spring forth in ways they have never before. Newness of life happens when we share space with others and grow together in new ways. Welcoming new people is the primary task of the church. I think the creative act of combining things in new arrangements has made a life-giving difference in our world. That is exactly how (for example)  innovative technology, medical treatment, and artistic expression contribute to our world. Maybe the church would be more welcoming of people, if we would also open our minds to welcome new ideas and new challenges, too. If we have no differences among us, there is no space for unity to emerge.

Look again, everything belongs, even daffodils within an evergreen.

Storage Space

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There are boxes amidst the power tools and ladders in the construction zone that will one day once again be my office. Sometimes we need to put things in long term storage. There are things we may not need to use again for years. On a computer, we call this back-up and information that would fill rooms of files fits into something smaller than a shoebox. Our attics are full of nostalgia, like the first hand-print wreath, I have four, one from each of our sons. Our spiritual lives hold things in storage, too. The ancients built altars leaving them to remind them of the Presence of God, or the lesson God provided. Do you have any altars stored in your memory?

There are also those times when we pack up a box and need to unpack it three times during the next week because we did not realize how vital the items within it are, how often we need them. Do you use silence every day? Is there a special devotional book that sustains you each day? Be sure you leave the things that sustain you out of the box!

And then, there are times in our lives when we feel boxed in. There is too much stuff around us, and we can’t move. This is spiritually depleting. The soul needs space in which to unfold and stretch. The space that most often boxes us in is time. We don’t leave white space on our schedules. We fill every moment.

In my newly renovated office, I am going to build a couple altars, keep my favorite things within arms length and leave a little white space on my shelves.

Two Windows

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New clarity, new viewpoints, new perspectives arise when hidden things are revealed. Have you ever uncovered something in your life that you had no idea was there until a wall came down and suddenly you could see things very differently? These two windows, hidden by a wall until just last week, provide tremendous light between the pastor’s office and the sanctuary. Suddenly, new clarity is given both the congregation and the pastor. Slowly, new light shines through at different angles than ever before. I can’t wait till the sun comes up!

Interior Space

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One Wall at a Time

If we spend any length of time exploring our interior lives, deep where the Spirit of God exists, we get to know our boundaries and our limitations. Each time we come up against a wall, we find that it is there for a reason. It might be protective. It might support other structures. It might be a place of review, scanning moments in time before turning a corner. There comes a day when the walls do not seem to do their job, they crumble and we fill with despair. This is a vulnerable time. Only when we recognize that God is necessary in the process of rebuilding can peace, security and hope be restored. Rebuilding takes time and attention to detail.

My office has two windows and a door, at least that is what I thought. Until during this renovation, we uncovered two windows leading into the sanctuary behind a case of bookshelves. Interesting. Our souls need to be permeable for the Spirit of love and mercy to flow freely. Windows for the soul might be prayer, artistic works, dreams, memories or spiritual friendship. Perhaps there are some windows I have not yet explored, so I am excited about the possibility of restoring windows, especially those that help me see into the sanctuary, amongst God’s presence and God’s people.

This Wednesday, ashes will be imposed and we will begin the forty day journey of Lent. Forty days is symbolic of the time needed for God to accomplish God’s purposes. May you explore your interior lives, get to know your boundaries and limitations, inviting God to help rebuild any walls that don’t bring peace to your soul. May you find new windows for mercy and love to flow freely.

Splitting Hairs: The Fine Art of Picking Paint

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Splitting Hairs: The Fine Art of Picking Paint

I happen to love playing with color. I am sensitive to the way color ‘feels,’ warm or cold, quiet or loud, storybook or vintage. We associate color in some fascinating ways. Picking paint takes time and thought. Paint can look very different depending on the light. The tiny paint chips at the paint store don’t often convey what an entire wall will look like when it is covered. For me, creative versatility is important. My office needs to be peaceful on some days and playful on others. So I look for a color palate that will allow for a wide range of possibilities.

Once we have decided to renovate our lives and proceed fully committed to God,  there are a wide range of possibilities for learning, growing and sharing in God’s love.  Discernment is the process of making hair splitting decisions, most often between two good things. Shall I serve at the soup kitchen today or visit my elderly neighbor? Should I play with my children or call my sister who is going through a divorce? Should I clean the house or go out and work in the garden?

God doesn’t waste anything. Sometimes surprising blessings come from making the ‘wrong’ decisions. So get creative, pick a new color, do something you have never done before, make the best decision you can for today, and the rest will faithfully follow.

Renovation

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Getting organized has moved to a new level. Renovation. The act of improving by renewing and restoring. In case it wasn’t obvious, this blog really is about the faith journey. You begin the day you examine your life and begin to organize and rearrange your stuff, your priorities. You store the things you don’t need to look at for a while and  get rid of things you don’t want. (See Getting Organized Parts 1 and 2)

As you focus and your understanding of who you are crystallizes, and you become entirely present to one moment, each moment, every day. (See Crystalline Moment)

Other people are always part of growing in faith. Once other people entered my journey, I got renovation. My world turned upside down, walls came down, (all that pine paneling) holes where patched, things were rewired, and new furniture added to structure my daily life; it seemed to take forever. Some days, it looked and felt like nothing was happening at all. In fact, you can see from the picture, the drywall needs paint, and I am not able to get to my desk, yet…

We live in this state our whole lives. God is in the process of renovating our lives. It is unsettling and at the same time life giving and hopeful. What may have seemed fine to begin with, becomes a new creation. Purpose and meaning are added to life. Love and mercy flow freely. All the pieces belong, suddenly everything belongs. Nothing is wasted. Having faith means growing in relationship with God and others to renew and restore our lives, our families, our community, our world. Faith is for improving our lives now.

God’s designs are for glorious living! Especially in the midst of renovation.

Getting Organized Part 2

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Chaos!!! Getting organized is one of those processes that seems to get worse before it gets better.  These pictures reveal what getting organized looks like for me right now! I went through every item in my office to throw out and give away anything that I did not use. Two loads of things went to thrift stores. It looked great for about a day.

 

Have you ever tried this technique on your calendar, throw out anything that is keeping you from growing toward the person you want to be?  How about organizing your spiritual life? What are the weekly life giving rhythms you practice to keep your focus on God? For me, getting organized physically and spiritually is another way to practice simplicity. When all the stuff I don’t use is out of the way. then I can focus on what is really important.

 

Getting organized is kind of like playing with dominos, each domino has an effect on the one before it. Once you change one thing, other things need to be changed, too. Once I had taken out items that were no longer useful, the next step to organizing my office was to find things to help me get organized. I chose a new hanging file system and some bookshelf space around my desk. In the midst of moving the furniture around, we found a real live church mouse who has been affectionately named “Delilah.” We watch her scurry across the carpet on occasion trying to find where her dwelling place used to be, and I know just how she feels. (Now that the cabinets for my hanging files have been constructed, maybe I should move my files in before Delilah finds her new home there.)

 

Getting organized is not something that we can do alone. The office walls needed to be cleaned up, the paneling had warped and there were nails sticking out. Electrical wires were hanging from the ceiling. Well, I am learning you do get what you ask for,  I want my office to be a place of welcome and indeed it is, right now there are many people coming in and out pasting dry wall, painting and rewiring. I am so very thankful for each of them.

What needs re-organizing in your life, your job, your church? Remember, you don’t have to go it alone! Even just one person’s input and energy can add amazing blessings toward fulfilling dreams! And you might just be that person!