Oh...it is so beautiful outside. I can hardly believe sometimes how lovely nature can be.
It made me remember one of my favorite poems, "The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver. At the end she asks a question "What will you do with your one wild and precious life?" So...? How will you answer that question today?
Last night we did Lectio Divina (reading a scripture through 3 times, each time listening for something different the Spirit is saying to us). I love this time. It's holy. And last night we read Psalm 27, which is FILLED with words that are true and beautiful..."The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?...I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." As I sat and heard these words over and over again, I could still feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. We can pray in so many ways. I just had to share these with you.
The Summer Day
Mary Oliver
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
Psalm 27
1The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh— my adversaries and foes— they shall stumble and fall.
3Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
4One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
5For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
6Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
7Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
8“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, do I seek.
9Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
10If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.
11Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
12Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.
13I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
more lunch-time spying
Well most of the buds are leaves now! It is beautiful outside. I can hardly remember what winter felt like, and I don't want to for several months!
Today I was talking to Dick Duncombe, who is preaching on Thursday, May 29 when Pastor Paul, AIM Ruth and I are at the synod assembly. He is working on a sermon that talks about what we do when we are NOT in church. You know, it's easy to think if we go to church for an hour a week that is all we need to do to be a good person. But how we act the rest of the time is also important!
I went to Fiddlehead's in Cedarburg for lunch today (it's Monday, gotta eat good food so I can have a good week...right?!). In keeping with my Christmas eve sermon illustration (when I was at Panera) I will tell you what I observed. A couple of couples came in for lunch. The men went and sat down and barked at their wives while the women stood in line, ordered lunch, got napkins, cups, etc. Ugh. Not very nice. At one point one of the women said she had to use the restroom. "You can go" her husband replied. Weird. Does she need his permission?? It was all very strange.
Anyway, it just struck me how our behavior can affect other people, even when we think they are not watching. I know I have the occassional bad day, but this all got me thinking about what kind of impression I want to leave on others. Sometimes as a pastor I feel like eyes are on me all the time (even on my days off) and I don't always like that feeling. But the truth is, whether we are pastors or not we should be treating others kindly whether they are wife or strangers.
Didn't the bible say that we can entertain angels without knowing it? How would our daily lives change if we treated everyone as if they contained a piece of God and heaven within them?
Today I was talking to Dick Duncombe, who is preaching on Thursday, May 29 when Pastor Paul, AIM Ruth and I are at the synod assembly. He is working on a sermon that talks about what we do when we are NOT in church. You know, it's easy to think if we go to church for an hour a week that is all we need to do to be a good person. But how we act the rest of the time is also important!
I went to Fiddlehead's in Cedarburg for lunch today (it's Monday, gotta eat good food so I can have a good week...right?!). In keeping with my Christmas eve sermon illustration (when I was at Panera) I will tell you what I observed. A couple of couples came in for lunch. The men went and sat down and barked at their wives while the women stood in line, ordered lunch, got napkins, cups, etc. Ugh. Not very nice. At one point one of the women said she had to use the restroom. "You can go" her husband replied. Weird. Does she need his permission?? It was all very strange.
Anyway, it just struck me how our behavior can affect other people, even when we think they are not watching. I know I have the occassional bad day, but this all got me thinking about what kind of impression I want to leave on others. Sometimes as a pastor I feel like eyes are on me all the time (even on my days off) and I don't always like that feeling. But the truth is, whether we are pastors or not we should be treating others kindly whether they are wife or strangers.
Didn't the bible say that we can entertain angels without knowing it? How would our daily lives change if we treated everyone as if they contained a piece of God and heaven within them?
Monday, May 5, 2008
Buds
They're here! The buds on the trees!
These are some of my favorite days of the year. All of a sudden, our world changes!
When I got to work this morning, I noticed that the tree outside my window has buds. Then when I drove home for lunch I noticed that ALL the trees on 6th avenue are budding. Now, so fast, the leaves will grow and we'll enter the green season.
It is so nice out I decided to eat lunch on my porch. It was awesome. The sun was headed over to the other side of my building but there was a little sliver of light shining onto my deck chair. I put my feet in it and ate and pet Jonah and read. It was wonderful. It reminded me of what I really need in life.
Psychologist Abraham Maslow created a hierarchy of needs for humans. It's organized into a pyramid, with the most basic needs on the bottom. If those needs are not met, a person can't reach the goal of self-actualization. I don't remember all the details about what it means to be self-actualized, but I do remember hearing that a self-actualized person is not affected by the weather. If that's what it means to be self-actualized, then I don't think I want to be!
God made a beautiful world. Even though I am so glad the long, cold winter is over, I am thankful that we live in a climate that changes. It makes the spring so sweet! It reminds me that life is full of cycles. Sometimes things are green and growing. Sometimes things are barren. But they always come back around, and the Spirit (breath, wind) of God is always moving in us and blowing us on to new things.
These are some of my favorite days of the year. All of a sudden, our world changes!
When I got to work this morning, I noticed that the tree outside my window has buds. Then when I drove home for lunch I noticed that ALL the trees on 6th avenue are budding. Now, so fast, the leaves will grow and we'll enter the green season.
It is so nice out I decided to eat lunch on my porch. It was awesome. The sun was headed over to the other side of my building but there was a little sliver of light shining onto my deck chair. I put my feet in it and ate and pet Jonah and read. It was wonderful. It reminded me of what I really need in life.
Psychologist Abraham Maslow created a hierarchy of needs for humans. It's organized into a pyramid, with the most basic needs on the bottom. If those needs are not met, a person can't reach the goal of self-actualization. I don't remember all the details about what it means to be self-actualized, but I do remember hearing that a self-actualized person is not affected by the weather. If that's what it means to be self-actualized, then I don't think I want to be!
God made a beautiful world. Even though I am so glad the long, cold winter is over, I am thankful that we live in a climate that changes. It makes the spring so sweet! It reminds me that life is full of cycles. Sometimes things are green and growing. Sometimes things are barren. But they always come back around, and the Spirit (breath, wind) of God is always moving in us and blowing us on to new things.
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