"You wake up out of the huge crevasses of the night and your dreaming. You get out of bed, wash and dress, eat breakfast, say goodbye and go away never maybe to return for all you know, to work, talk, lust, pray, dawdle and do, and at the end of the day, if your luck holds, you come home again, home again. Then night again. Bed. The little death of sleep, sleep of death. Morning, afternoon, evening- the hours of the day, of any day, of your day and my day. The alphabet of grace. If there is a God who speaks anywhere, surely he speaks here: through waking up and working, through going away and coming back again, through people you read and books you meet, through falling asleep in the dark."
The Alphabet of Grace, Frederick Buechner.
God is hard to understand. Impossible, actually. God doesn't work the way we want. God doesn't make sense. We wonder what God is up to most of the time. How does God listen to all our prayers? How does God love us so much even when we are terrible? What is God really like?
But the alphabet of grace is simple. The way God comes to us is through ordinary things. Bread. Wine. Water. Words. Flesh.
God uses simple things to communicate with us.
Life can seem boring and repetitive. Where is God in all this? God is there in the simple things. Rest. Quiet. Chance conversations or encounters with friends and strangers. God uses the rythyms of life to bring us Grace. How has God brought your Grace in the ordinary things today?
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
College Tour
Good Monday Morning to you!
What a beautiful day it is. I can't even say how thankful I am that it is November 3 and the temps will be in the 70s! I am soaking up the warmth, sunshine and colorful leaves, cuz all those things are fading fast.
Last week I, along with a couple of other pastors, took 15 high school students on a tour of ELCA colleges. It was wonderful. The kids were all great as were the schools. It was interesting to see the similarities (good education, caring professors, faith based learning, high value placed on community) and differences of each school. It was also really fun to see the students come alive at various campuses. Each one has a different feel, and it is so important that you can "see" yourself at that school. That is how I felt when I first visited Luther College (www.luther.edu) in Decorah, Iowa. I loved it immediately and couldn't wait for high school to be over from that point on. I cherised every visit back there over my senior year. And being back there last week, I still had that same feeling.
Another interesting thing was how the students attitudes changed toward the schools as we visited them. In the beginning, they were all pretty resistent to going to school "in the middle of nowhere" or "in the middle of a cornfield." But when they got on campus, you couldn't say that the colleges were boring at all. There is so much going on- concerts, parties, groups, sports, worship, speakers...you name it!
Also, one of the benefits of going to a private school is that you have a much higher chance of finishing in 4 years as opposed to 5 or more. There are also tons of scholarships available.
But, like I said, it's all where you can see yourself. I hope that if you know someone who is considering college, you'll encourage them to just visit an ELCA school. They are great ministries of our church.
What a beautiful day it is. I can't even say how thankful I am that it is November 3 and the temps will be in the 70s! I am soaking up the warmth, sunshine and colorful leaves, cuz all those things are fading fast.
Last week I, along with a couple of other pastors, took 15 high school students on a tour of ELCA colleges. It was wonderful. The kids were all great as were the schools. It was interesting to see the similarities (good education, caring professors, faith based learning, high value placed on community) and differences of each school. It was also really fun to see the students come alive at various campuses. Each one has a different feel, and it is so important that you can "see" yourself at that school. That is how I felt when I first visited Luther College (www.luther.edu) in Decorah, Iowa. I loved it immediately and couldn't wait for high school to be over from that point on. I cherised every visit back there over my senior year. And being back there last week, I still had that same feeling.
Another interesting thing was how the students attitudes changed toward the schools as we visited them. In the beginning, they were all pretty resistent to going to school "in the middle of nowhere" or "in the middle of a cornfield." But when they got on campus, you couldn't say that the colleges were boring at all. There is so much going on- concerts, parties, groups, sports, worship, speakers...you name it!
Also, one of the benefits of going to a private school is that you have a much higher chance of finishing in 4 years as opposed to 5 or more. There are also tons of scholarships available.
But, like I said, it's all where you can see yourself. I hope that if you know someone who is considering college, you'll encourage them to just visit an ELCA school. They are great ministries of our church.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Night Prayer
I found this prayer on a blog I go to for clergy. It is a good reminder for all of us to let things go at the end of the day. We are promised a new start, a fresh start each morning. We are made new each day by God through our baptism. We do not have to be perfect, we just have to belong to God and trust in God's grace and love.
I hope you will pray this tonight and let God's peace surround you and renew you as you sleep.
it is night.
The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.
It is night after a long day.
What has been done has been done;
what has not been done has not been done;
let it be.
The night is dark;
Let our fears of the darkness of the world and our own lives rest in you.
The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
all dear to us,
and all who have no peace.
The night heralds the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day,
new joys,
new possibilities.
In your name we pray.
Amen.
I hope you will pray this tonight and let God's peace surround you and renew you as you sleep.
Night Prayer (source The New Zealand Prayer Book)
Lord,it is night.
The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.
It is night after a long day.
What has been done has been done;
what has not been done has not been done;
let it be.
The night is dark;
Let our fears of the darkness of the world and our own lives rest in you.
The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
all dear to us,
and all who have no peace.
The night heralds the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day,
new joys,
new possibilities.
In your name we pray.
Amen.
Monday, October 20, 2008
the body of Christ
oh my goodness gracious...it's been a long time since my last post! i'm sorry- these first couple months of the "program" year are very busy for us at Grace! i hereby renew my commitment to blogging!
yesterday we talked again about being the body of Christ-and how we all have different gifts and abilities. we are all different but we all belong- in fact we all belong because we are different. as challenging as it is sometimes to live together with all our differences, it is good to read (sometimes OVER and OVER again) 1 Corinthinans 12.
as the church we aim to be Christ's body in the world. we can't say to anyone that we don't need them. we can't think that we are better than anyone else. in fact, we should treat those we may think that we are better than with more honor and respect than anyone. we always should be looking to care for and lift up those among us who are hurting.
during the adult education hour, we talked about what parts of the body we don't lift up enough- people who do work that goes not unnoticed, but unthanked. we talked about rod wilterdink who sharpens all the pencils and takes care of the font (when it's not busted!), AIM ruth and larry scheibach who set up furniture for sunday school and confirmation, jan harpt who waters the plants, and the dartball team when they set up tables for the quilters. there is so much to be done, and when we all work together, it all gets done.
i had the first part of chapter 12 read at my ordination to remind me that everyone has different gifts and talents- that it's not all the job of the pastor to do everything. i have been reminded lately that i really can't do everything (darn it). i am surprised how hard this is for me to accept. but i have to learn to lean back on the rest of the body to do the things i can't do.
so today, take a moment to think about what you are good at, and appreciate yourself! then, think about something you can't do so well on your own, and appreciate whoever helps you with that. and remember- no part of Christ's body can exist on it's own, but together, we come alive.
yesterday we talked again about being the body of Christ-and how we all have different gifts and abilities. we are all different but we all belong- in fact we all belong because we are different. as challenging as it is sometimes to live together with all our differences, it is good to read (sometimes OVER and OVER again) 1 Corinthinans 12.
as the church we aim to be Christ's body in the world. we can't say to anyone that we don't need them. we can't think that we are better than anyone else. in fact, we should treat those we may think that we are better than with more honor and respect than anyone. we always should be looking to care for and lift up those among us who are hurting.
during the adult education hour, we talked about what parts of the body we don't lift up enough- people who do work that goes not unnoticed, but unthanked. we talked about rod wilterdink who sharpens all the pencils and takes care of the font (when it's not busted!), AIM ruth and larry scheibach who set up furniture for sunday school and confirmation, jan harpt who waters the plants, and the dartball team when they set up tables for the quilters. there is so much to be done, and when we all work together, it all gets done.
i had the first part of chapter 12 read at my ordination to remind me that everyone has different gifts and talents- that it's not all the job of the pastor to do everything. i have been reminded lately that i really can't do everything (darn it). i am surprised how hard this is for me to accept. but i have to learn to lean back on the rest of the body to do the things i can't do.
so today, take a moment to think about what you are good at, and appreciate yourself! then, think about something you can't do so well on your own, and appreciate whoever helps you with that. and remember- no part of Christ's body can exist on it's own, but together, we come alive.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
A question...
My sermon this week is on what we GET from worship. So I'm wondering...what do you get from worship? What keeps you coming back week after week? I'd love to hear from you! I think it would be great to include some of your responses in the sermon- if that's okay with you! They will be anonymous- I won't announce your name.
Make a comment on this post or just email me at pastorheidi@gracegrafton.com
God bless you all on this beautiful fall day! See you Sunday (or tonight)!
Make a comment on this post or just email me at pastorheidi@gracegrafton.com
God bless you all on this beautiful fall day! See you Sunday (or tonight)!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Perspective
A little perspective for you today from Archbishop Oscar Romero...
It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts; it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is the Lord's work...
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us. No sermon says all that should be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church's mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about:
We plant the seeds that will one day grow.
We water seeds already planted knowing they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that affects far beyond our capabilities...
We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very, very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the Master Builder and the worker.
We are workers, but not master builders, ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future that is not our own. Amen.
It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts; it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is the Lord's work...
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us. No sermon says all that should be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church's mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about:
We plant the seeds that will one day grow.
We water seeds already planted knowing they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that affects far beyond our capabilities...
We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very, very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the Master Builder and the worker.
We are workers, but not master builders, ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future that is not our own. Amen.
Monday, September 8, 2008
In the beginning...
of the educational year at Grace we had 30 people in the High School Youth Group Sunday morning class! Yay!
We've got even more signed up to do the "Generation Change" study for the next 4 weeks. This is the teen version of the "Financial Peace University" class that many adults have done. I am really, really excited about this study for several reasons- it's a very well-done course, it is going to get our high schoolers really involved in youth group, and it uses video, journaling, and other things to engage the kids.
But what I'm most excited about is what it is going to teach them- the dangers and emptiness of materialism, that they have TRUE value to God, the importance of saving and the gifts of giving to others.
God blesses us with so much. Our culture always tries to point us to what we DON'T have, distorting our priorities and our "needs." But the earlier we learn to focus on what we DO have rather than getting swept away in the rat race of materialsim, the better off we are.
Today, take some time to think about your blessings (material and spiritual) and thank God for them. And if you have children, talk to them about being financially responsible because the habits they make for themselves now will carry over into adulthood. It's never too early to start! Fill your offering envelopes together, tell them about the dangers of debt, and make it clear to them that you love them more than all the money in the world. Consider your finances and how they reflect who you are. And don't forget- prayer can help us make "change" (haha...get it!) inside and out.
God be with you and bless you with many kinds of riches!
We've got even more signed up to do the "Generation Change" study for the next 4 weeks. This is the teen version of the "Financial Peace University" class that many adults have done. I am really, really excited about this study for several reasons- it's a very well-done course, it is going to get our high schoolers really involved in youth group, and it uses video, journaling, and other things to engage the kids.
But what I'm most excited about is what it is going to teach them- the dangers and emptiness of materialism, that they have TRUE value to God, the importance of saving and the gifts of giving to others.
God blesses us with so much. Our culture always tries to point us to what we DON'T have, distorting our priorities and our "needs." But the earlier we learn to focus on what we DO have rather than getting swept away in the rat race of materialsim, the better off we are.
Today, take some time to think about your blessings (material and spiritual) and thank God for them. And if you have children, talk to them about being financially responsible because the habits they make for themselves now will carry over into adulthood. It's never too early to start! Fill your offering envelopes together, tell them about the dangers of debt, and make it clear to them that you love them more than all the money in the world. Consider your finances and how they reflect who you are. And don't forget- prayer can help us make "change" (haha...get it!) inside and out.
God be with you and bless you with many kinds of riches!
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