KISS

I've been traveling over the weekend to the lovely Ozarks. Lot's of miles in one weekend! I had internet access for a few minutes, questionable cell phone range, and little free time. We scouted towns, colleges, and possibilities. Our number one-son struggles with math. My niece is struggling with English. Both come natural to the other person. With an important test coming up, my sister advised her daughter to use the KISS theory (Keep it Simple Stupid) and not to become too caught up in the details and rules. Don't make things overly complicated.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, as individuals we know that you don't care so much about the fancy words, the methods, or the location, but that you hear our simple whispers of prayer, appreciate our humble acts of kindnesss, and our commitment to you no matter where we are. As our church searches for the best ways to open our doors and share the Good News, let us remember to Keep it Simple. There is a natural way for us to share the gifts that we have. Help us to remember the God given gifts that we have in place. Amen

Sawdust

We are trying to make some changes at work, installing some additional work stations to provide privacy, noise reduction, and unique spaces. Today they started pulling cables and dropping them from the ceiling for the computers. There was drilling and pounding. There were unfamiliar people behind our closed doors. It was a time of inconvenience and pacing as we tried to not bump into each other, yet keep an eye on the extra bodies, protecting our turf and valuables. When they would leave to get a tool we would poke our head in the room to check on the progress, shake our heads at the sawdust, and return to pacing. They finished the day by cleaning up the extra mess, and we spent extra time putting things back as they had been.

My prayer for the congegation?

Dear God, you built our universe from a mass of darkness and added rainbows, waterfalls and mountain peaks in that void. We can't imagine what you could build using the raw resources of this congregation!! Our people and structures just need to be put together with your design. We'll be tempted to scrutinize the progress, offer advice and criticism, and we'll definitely worry and pace. God, help us to remember that when you act as the architect of our lives, providing our cornerstone, that we will have an outstanding foundation. Let us discover the unique and unexpected spaces with grateful hearts. Let us build in the spirit of an old fashioned barn raising, helping each other, and dancing in the sawdust! Amen.

Connection

During yesterday's posting I realized how infrequently I begin a prayer with Jesus. It has nothing to do with my faith tradition. It's just my preference. I grew up in another denomination, and I can remember thinking as a young girl that God was getting the short end of things. It seemed to me that God's name was rarely mentioned. Perhaps I'm still making up for all those imagined slights.

I participated in a spiritual formation group several years ago, and one idea that has remained with me is the idea that different people find their spiritual connection through distinct aspects of the Trinity. For instance, someone who did not have a good relationship with their father might find it hard to bond through God the Father, but could soar through the Holy Spirit.

My prayer for the congregation?

Compassionate God, we praise the vast ways that you avail your people and offer countless possibilities to draw us closer to you. Help us to be aware that different people and ages may need different approaches and teaching styles to release their minds and open their hearts to absorb the Good News of your love and recognize the Gift of Grace. Help us to think beyond our own inclinations, and help me to grow beyond my own preferences. We praise all that our congregation has to offer and the traditions that have supported us to this point and that will continue to carry us into the future. Let us be open to the needs and challenges that await, and connections that can be met when we trust in you. Amen.

ReDesign

The front and center section of the Dallas Morning News announced the redesign of the newspaper. The new features include more color, bigger text, more white space, 1/2" off each side to make it easier to hold, and labels at the top of the story so that you can tell in an instant what the story is about. There is less room for the stories, so they promise tighter editing and concise writing. I do believe the headlines have GROWN! However, if you are trying to read the details, still get out the glasses!

And I have to ask myself, why do we even take the newspaper? Is it because we always have? Is it because our parents did? Is it for the exercise as we bend over to pick it up? How often do I move the unopened newspaper from the table to the recycle pile? What is my first reflex if I need to find information?...

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, It is a struggle to stay current with the newest information, the newest trends, and the newest mode of communication. We struggle with the best way to share the Good News. Do we advertise in the newspaper, or podcast? Do we make the message easier to understand by using three word headlines and making it easier to hold, or do we act as tutors? Do we redesign or do we hold fast? Please help us to remain faithful to your will and to keep the Word fresh. Silence our confusion, so that we may be more attuned to your gifts of revelation towards the life of this congregation. Give us fresh eyes to see our community, and fresh ideas to meet their needs. If we need to make bigger headlines, I pray that you will be our editor! Amen

Holey Monday

It's only taken a day after Easter to find holes in the system.

I heard once that churches experience a considerable drop off from normal attendance for the Sunday following Easter. After all, you may have gone to church 4 or 5 times in one week!! Isn't there a system called Paying Forward? Banking your surpluses?? I found the holes in this posting system which allows me to change the date. Sure, it may be 5AM on Tuesday, but I fell asleep last night before I could post. Now I can make things look neat and uniform! Isn't it great when we can wrap up a package to make it look pretty?

My prayer for the congregation?

Blessed Jesus, Please help us to stay diligent. You have dealt with people before who have fallen asleep when you asked them to stay awake praying. It is natural to rest after a flurry of activities and preparation, but one might think Christians would still be running from house to house exclaiming "Christ has Risen!" We wonder how those who witnessed the empty tomb acted the next day. Be present in the goings and the comings of our day-to-day lives so that all may know of Easter, not one day each year, but every day. Help us to keep the excitement in our eyes and in our speech. Help us to make Easter real in our lives, not just a pretty package of what a Christian should be. Help us to stay diligent. Amen.

PS... I never was good at making packages look very pretty. I decided to keep the date real.... for this time :-)

Who Rises?

From the "30 Good Minutes" archives, Walter Wangerin asks: "In Whom Will Jesus Rise Around You?" What a marvelous Easter question! Look at the person next to you in the pew, or the person next to you at the red light, perhaps the person serving your food, or consider the person sacking your groceries, could it be the person holding a sign at the intersection? In whom will Jesus rise around me?

Today at our Easter service, it could have been the young child being baptized. So many people love this child, and wanted to witness the baptism, that there was not an empty pew in the sanctuary. The family immigrated from Cameroon, and there is a strong community support of fellow countrymen. They know about rising and facing the unknown. What a privilege it was to welcome the child into the Christian journey, promise our support of the raising of the child, and to worship as one.

My prayer for the congregation?

Glorious God, please let us be ready to say "YES!" when Jesus asks "Will you rise around me?" Let us be ready to recognize Jesus in the people we meet and may they see the evidence of the glory of the Risen Christ in our lives and in our congregation. Help us welcome immigrants from other nations, and immigrants to our faith. Help us support those who rise and follow you. Remind us that Easter shows us that all things are possible beyond our wildest imagination. Friday there was no hope. Today, we live filled with hope. When Jesus asks "Who will rise?" - Fill us with enthusiasm to ask "How high can we rise?"
Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Amen.

Spirit to Imagine

I found a new resource while looking for some additonal help with a 1st Peter study: "30 Good Minutes," a PBS show in Chicago.

What I did not have that day was the strength of spirit to imagine that whatever the pain of the change, there was something in it that would call more out of me than I ever imagined was there. The kind of struggle that shocks us into new beginnings is the kind of struggle that gives us new life. It forces us down unwanted paths. It leads us stumbling through the rills and recesses of the dark sides of the soul—angry, fearful, resistant, and unbelieving. But it also prods us from task to task in life until, at the end, we find ourselves full-statured and full of grace.
Joan Chittister, aired on "30 Good Minutes" Nov 2007

My prayer for the congregation?

O God, on Holy Saturday, the disciples struggled. They struggled without the knowledge of Easter. They didn't have the spirit to imagine the changes to come. No one chooses to go down that unwanted path of struggle. We prefer to have the choices clear and the road leveled. But for those times when we struggle and we don't know, or have forgotten, that Easter comes in the morning, let us be made stronger in our reliance upon you. A new beginning is promised when we put down our life and turn it over to you. O God, we struggle between what we know, the darkness of uncertainty, and the promise of new life. Help us to focus and imagine the changes in the life of your church, rooted in the certainty of Easter life, because today, Easter is still a day away. Amen.

My friend Will

Roger Bannister defied the mindset of the world in 1953 who said running a mile in under 4 minutes was impossible. Once the myth was shattered, within two months another runner ran the mile even faster than Roger. In 2008, it does not even take an Olympic trained athlete to run the mile in under 4 minutes. High school athletes can make this mark.

This is not a unique story. Shattering myths and assumptions has happened all through history. It is a gift to think beyond our boundaries and to have the mindset, and the actions, to challenge status quo and conceived limitations.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You have blessed your people with an incredible will to live, to dream, and to thrive. This will often makes the difference between living and dying. This will is empowering! It is a source of encouragement and hope. But you know, O God, that this will can also separate us from you. We ask ourselves, what is beyond our power? We give thanksgivings that there is a power greater than man. Please help us harness our will to follow your will, and use our will to allow the church to live, and dream and thrive. Use our will so that the church can make a difference and break barriers that are both real and imagined. Amen

Do You Feel What I Feel?

I walked into our Maundy Thursday service as the first song was being played, a wonderful instrumental of "Ah Holy Jesus." The meal had been shared a little earlier, but because the service had already started, the only words spoken directly to me were during Passing of the Peace and the words over Communion. We leave the service in silence.

Tonight I was moved by the number of people who reached out to touch me in the absence of words. Just reassuring, gentle hands on an arm, or a shoulder as we passed near each other as we stepped forward to share the Eucharist.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, Help us to find ways to reach out when words can't be spoken. Perhaps it is a language barrier, a relationship barrier, a theological barrier, or a physical barrier. Sometimes we do a kindness by holding our tongue... In those times when words can't be spoken, be with us, God, as we find ways to bridge the divide and connect with a touch, with an act of kindness, a listening ear, or a shared meal. Use our hands, as your hands, with healing touches and welcoming handshakes. Gracious God, help us to know when to remain quiet and when to shout your commision, for even the stones shout you are Lord! Amen

What a Difference

What a difference a day made,

Twenty-four little hours

Brought the sun and the flowers

Where there used to be rain.

Words & Music by Maria Grever &
Stanley Adams

Recorded by D. Washington, 1959

With the help of a little wind and a cold front, the rain has moved off to the east. The skies were crystal clear. It could have been an ideal day, but it was a tad windy - to say the least. But for another day in Texas I got to wear a turtleneck and sweater. Comfort clothes.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, when we long to linger a little while longer in our comfort, send winds of conviction and persuade our overcast horizon to be replaced with sun and flowers where there used to be rain. What a difference a day can make. What a difference we can make. Dear God, sometimes I work harder in my comfort clothes. They are well worn, yield to the common movements, and I don't have to think to hard about what goes with each other. I can concentrate on the work. But also help us remember the way people notice when something new is worn. It sparks conversation, it makes us walk a little straighter, and it makes us think about new possibilities. Let us work well in our comfort, but also encourage and require us to think about new possibilities and let our community notice that we are standing tall in your righteousness. Amen.

Excuses, Excuses

It's raining. It's 9pm and it's been raining since 8am. DFW airport was evacuated around noon. I've never heard of that happening before! Two of the Community Colleges closed due to high water. I missed a traffic snarl on the drive home. All of this rain should bring a prayer to mind.

But it doesn't.

Instead I'm thinking of all the excuses that keep me from doing what I need to do. I was working on a newspaper ad for the Easter services this week. I was going to turn it in last Wednesday when I left work early. I stayed too long at Sams. Then I forgot after the dinner. When was the deadline? What was the size? Where is that number? The newspaper calls me! I'm off to a meeting. The newspaper calls me again today with an extension. We started working at 3:50pm with a 4pm deadline. There's the easy way, and then there's the hard way.... Guess how this skull got so dense. Could it be hitting brick walls instead of using the door???

My prayer for the congregation?

I pray that excuses fall like the rain today, joining overflowing creeks of those who have let excuses be swept away. I pray that we renew our purpose and remember our covenant when the rainbow and sun appear. Help us to set aside all the distractions and quiet the voices of dissent that keep us from you and help us to follow more closely to your vision and your will in our own lives, in the life of the congregation, to reach out to the community around us, and to seek peace for all nations. Amen.

Free Bird

I'm giddy! Our barn swallows have come back for spring to roost on our back porch. There's something wonderful about these birds who come back each year to make their home with us. They come back of their own free choice. They make their own nest and find their own food. We don't do anything to support them except visually check on them daily, forgive the droppings on the porch, and cheer on the little ones when they learn to fly. (One year we did have to trap a rat snake that was making its way towards the nest. But that's an entirely different escapade!) We usually get at least two sets of babies each year.

More than being a sign of spring, I think I enjoy the swallows so much because it makes me feel proud that they choose to share their lives with us.

It struck me that we are somewhat like the swallows and God gets giddy whenever his free ones remember, and choose to live near the place called Home that provides shelter, a loving watchful eye, a protector, and a cheerleader for the times we stretch our wings and fly as we are intended.

The prayer for the congregation today... Let us learn to fly as we are intended and let us return to be close to God each morning, afternoon, evening, spring and fall. May an Irish blessing find it's way to each one's heart.

You are the peace of all things calm

You are the place to hide from harm

You are the light that shines in dark

You are the heart's eternal spark

You are the door that's open wide

You are the guest who waits inside

You are the stranger at the door

You are the calling of the poor

You are my Lord and with me still

You are my love, keep me from ill

You are the light, the truth, the way

You are my Saviour this very day.

You Are God - Celtic Oral Tradition - 1st millennium

Addendum: 3-19-08

I am, after all, positively, hopelessly, indecisive... I haven't stopped thinking about the analogy of the swallows. And I can also see them as an example of grace. They come as a free gift. I haven't done anything to bring them to our lives. They are a source of comfort, of wonder, and of miracles. Free for my benefit. Does one get giddy over being proud? Or does one become giddy from an inner core of happiness, peace and completeness?

One Foot in Front of the Other

Who, me? Pray?

I was asked to be part of a team that prays every day for our congregation. Egads! Besides my procrastination and preference for a committee-free life, more importantly, I've never exactly been known as a "prayer warrior" and this didn't seem the best recipe to meddle with the life of our congregation! But something about this opportunity made me decide to give it a try.

I've been surprised! It may not be the traditional, head bowed, eyes closed, hands open position. But you miss so much with your eyes closed - especially when you're driving!! It takes me about 40 minutes to drive to work and my drive time through the years has become a wonderful incubator to compose, to ponder, and now to pray.

Last Monday, the fog was intense! I couldn't see the street from my front door. It became that day's starting point.

I prayed for forgiveness that often we pray for what is in front of us - ourselves. That's all we can see. I prayed that we could see with God's eyes, and see beyond our limited sight and knowledge of what is our world. I prayed that the fog would lift from our vision of who we are, and to dream of who we can become.

Now it's time to drive to work and pray!!

n~