Circles of Concern Two

 

Yesterday, I shared with you the ancient prayer for peace within.  Join your voice with mine in praying these words: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change...courage to change the things I can…and Wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. taking, as Christ did, this sinful (read: broken, bruised, gone astray) world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that God will make all things right if I surrender to God’s will. That I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with God forever in the next. Amen.  

 

Part of what I love about the extended version of this prayer is that phrase, “reasonably happy”.  What a great invitation and invokes the question, “what is reasonable?”  We probably all have a different definition of reasonably happy.  For some people, reasonably happy means material things and vacations to exotic places; for another it might mean basic needs of food and shelter; and for still another just a new pair of flip flops!  I offer you this question to let rummage and roam around your life.  What does reasonably happy mean to you?  Are you willing to leave space that reasonable people can have different perspectives?  That one person’s understanding might seem foolish to another.

 

When I hear that phrase, “reasonably happy” I think of things like: eating my vegetables which always make me feel better, choosing kindness (even when I don’t wanna), and being open to God in the ordinary and every day.  What would it mean understanding that I don’t control everything, but I can control my reactions and responses.  It makes me think of Victor Frankl, who endured concentration camp during World War 2 and saw his family killed, Frankl wrote, “Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.”  Sit with that for a moment.  Re-read it.  Frankl also wrote, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”  Go back, rewind, and re-read those two quotes. 

 

Your agency is found when we accept that within our control are words and actions; within our control is to be awake and aware of what is feeding and fueling life (is it fear or fascination); and that what we offer this world can be a peace, serenity, and wholeness.  To take this world with its brokenness and seek God’s prayerful will.  This is the prayer of my heart and hope for my life this day and this week. Amen.    

Circles of Life

 

The best way to live life is to act on the advice we give to others ~ Author Unknown

 

Within each of us, there is a deep desire to be heard.  Within each of us, there is a teacher, preacher, and sage who longs to impact and influence others.  Within each of us, there is a prayer that we might leave our corner of the world better ~ clear out the cobwebs or clutter of where we find ourselves. 

 

And, one of the tensions we experience/encounter is that our circle of concern is larger than our circle of control.  A personal example is my children.  They are definitely in my circle of concern.  I want the best for them.  I would prefer that they learn life’s lessons the easiest, most pain-free way possible (unfortunately we usually learn more by doing it wrong than by getting it right).  I want them to be safe, happy, not get hurt by others, and know they are always loved.  These are my heartfelt concerns.  What of that list can I control?  Very little. I can’t constantly hover and hang around their lives to defend them when someone says something that hurts or harms them.  I can’t intercede or interrupt or interject every single second trying to avert disaster or remove potential pitfalls of pain.  What is in my control are the words I share, the energy I give, and showing up with love in their lives.  Do you start to sense how much larger my circle of concern is than what I can control?  You could draw this by making a big circle listing all your concerns, then circle the things that you have full control over within that wider circle. 

 

If this is true in my small corner of the world, when I extend and expand beyond the four walls of my home, you start to sense one source of the fuel that feeds the anger, anguish, anxiety in the world today.  I am concerned about shootings at schools, racism, sexism, discrimination against LGBTQ, clean water and earth, poverty, hunger, the war in Ukraine, polarization, and the circle of concern enlarges every time I scroll my newsfeed.  But, what can I do?  Where does my control begin and end? 

 

This is usually where we want to say that you are more powerful than you know, you have agency, you can make a difference.  And, our circle of control usually isn’t as large as we’d like.  I wonder if we, as a culture, were able to talk more about this, if it would help?  I wonder if we were willing to hold the beautiful tension between concern and control what might happen?

 

Of course, none of this is new.  It is echoed in the Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change...courage to change the things I can…and Wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. taking, as Christ did, this sinful (read: broken, bruised, gone astray) world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that God will make all things right if I surrender to God’s will. That I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with God forever in the next. Amen.        

 

Today, I invite you to read this prayer several times.  Let it simmer and soak and sing to your soul.  Let the truths found within these words interrupt the stories we tell ourselves.  May the Serenity of the Sacred; the Peace of the Holy Presence; and the Lingering Love of God be found as we embrace and embody this prayer today.  Amen.

Prayer Part Three

 

Authoring God, as I wind down and wrap up this week, I know You are faithfully and loving helping me write the stories I tell ~ about myself, others, the world and Your presence. Honestly, God, I often miss the plot points. I can get caught up in whether the punctuation is correct or whether the verb tenses agree. I get stuck in the negativity and don't see the possibility. Sometimes the pain and ache of the story can overwhelm me. The grief for the shooting at the elementary school this week, the lives of young children extinguished...this following so close on the shooting in Buffalo that was fueled by racism. I wonder, where is this story going? I wonder about the bigger story of humanity and creation. I wonder how I, as a featherless biped, through social media posts, sermons, and being a pastor can help? Enter the story of each of our lives O God afresh and anew. Enter the story we are telling in our hearts. I pray for You to interrupt the story with creativity that spurs hope. I pray for You to edit the story with new words of imagination.

I pray for you to re-write the story with fresh new lines of faith to trace for these days. Open my heart, O God, to hear the story of Your love being found in moments when morning has broken, like this morning. Open my ears, O God, to hear the story of Your presence in family and friends whose support feeds my life. Open my soul, O God, with courage to share that today is like a fresh piece of paper placed in a typewriter (Okay, that metaphor might be a bit dated, but go with me.) Help us hear and live that great hymn as our soundtrack: "I love to tell the story of Jesus endless love." May those words set my soul surging and help keep me open to You, O God, whose wisdom can guide all of us through the wilderness of these days. Amen.

Prayer part two

 

Yesterday I invited you to listen and lean in to God’s still small voice.  One way you can do this is through five deep belly breaths with slow, controlled exhales.  Let’s do that now:

Breathing in through your nose a breath so deep the oxygen reaches your right pinkie toe.  Then, exhale slow and steady, pushing out all that pain or toxics that if kept inside could poison us. 

Breathing in through your nose, which are connected to your ears/eyes/mind.  Exhaling all the ways we can be so captivated by the cynical and critical ways of life.

Breathing in deeply the One who still sings to the depth within you.  Exhaling all the chatter that is saying, “You don’t have time for this slow breathing silliness right now!!”

Breathing in a love that will not let you go.  Exhaling all that which says, “You gotta keep struggling and striving, otherwise you won’t get anywhere.”

Breathing in stillness.  Exhaling noisiness.

 

Breathe and be.

Breathe and be.

 

In the stillness, what do you hear?

 

Listen.  Lean in.  May the Sacred sing you a soft lullaby that guides your whole day.  Amen.

Prayer

 

Yesterday's heartbreaking, soul aching shooting of innocent children at a school in Uvalde, TX leaves us all grieving. This follows last week's racially motivated shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo. I woke up this morning with a heavy heart for parents who now are planning funerals and frustration at leaders who refuse to pass legislation that, while may not stop this epidemic, could help. With the psalmist I find myself crying out, "How long, O God". I can feel inept and powerless and even discouraged that I could make a difference.

But then I remember the Hebrew concept of Tikkun olam ~ literally means the healing of the world. There are so many beautiful stories about how in the beginning the light or spark of God was shattered into a thousand shards and settled into every - all - living beings. Our call in the world is to not just let our light shine, but to join with the lights of countless other people that we might collaborate with our still Creating God in healing this broken, bruised, grieving world. It is a calling we may not complete in our live time, nor can we stop sharing and shining as long as we have breath.

On Sunday, we invite you to wear ORANGE to honor the children in Texas and our African-Americans brothers and sisters shot in Buffalo. We wear ORANGE because every day 35 people are killed with a gun, more than any other country in the world! We wear ORANGE because we believe God is calling us to help in the healing and restoration of this world.

Please pray with me:

God wrap Your loving embrace around all families who are grieving today, especially the families in Texas and Buffalo. God inspire and infuse our imagination to work toward a world where such stories don't happen every day. Let our heartbreak turn to hard work. Let our frustration guide us to meaningful action. Let Your presence move us deeper in the holy work of creating a world where the shards of light come together. Hold all those whose hearts are heavy and help open the ears of those who can make a change and inspire us to cry out for Your justice here on earth. In the name of the Light of the World, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Morning Meditation

 

What new insight arrived in your awareness yesterday as you paid attention to the stories you told yourself?  What new ideas are percolating?  Did you see some seeds of God’s presence trying to sink into your soul?  What is still perplexing you about why you tell the stories you tell? 

 

How can we be more open to God, the gardener, of our soul?  There is an ancient story about a prophet named Elijah.  Elijah lived in a time when the King and Queen were leading the people astray from the relationship with God.  Imagine a world where the leaders don’t act in the best interest of the people!  I sense that wasn’t too difficult given the headlines today.  There is a story in 1 Kings 18-19, about Elijah facing down priests who worshipped the god of Baal, which was the religion of the Queen of Israel at that time.  Notice that religious tension and differences is a tale as old as time.  Elijah wins by having God bring fire before Baal even sends a spark.  You would think Elijah would be elated, rather he is afraid because the Queen is not happy, so she puts a price on Elijah’s head.  So, Elijah runs away so fast he leaves skid marks in the sand to get out of Dodge and flees to the wilderness for safety and shelter out of fear. 

 

There is a story Elijah is telling himself here.

 

Out in the wilderness, Elijah takes shelter under a tree where an angel makes him breakfast.  Elijah goes and hides in a cave.  Elijah tells himself, “It would be better if I was dead.”  Notice the tension?  God provide, Elijah pouts.  God offers nourishment, Elijah only sees the broken and bad.

 

There is a story Elijah is telling himself here!

 

Then, the ancient writers say this, “Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by.” A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.  When Elijah heard the quiet voice, he muffled his face with his great cloak, went to the mouth of the cave, and stood there. A quiet voice asked, “So Elijah, now tell me, what are you doing here?” (1 Kings 19:11-13).  Feel free to go read the entire story.  It’s okay.  I’ll wait.

 

A quiet voice is how God speaks and sings.  Or your Bible might have the translation, “A still small voice”.  Amid the cacophony and chaos and constant 24-hour-news-cycle and dinging of our phones with “alerts”…the still small voice of the Sacred.  Not in the whirlwind of worries, but in the question, “What are you doing here?”

 

That’s a holy question.  How would you answer, “What are you doing here?  You can answer that question with all that is filling your calendar, all that you are catching in the net of your life, all that is filling your days.  Or you can answer, “What are you doing here,” on a deeper level.  For example, I am trying to live from a grounded place of grace and let the light of love shine through. I am seeking to practice laughter’s healing art with as many people as I can.  I am seeking to live from a place where life is an adventure…like all adventures there will be unexpected exit ramps and people will say things that hurt…but there is also a generous and gracious and generative God that is at work in the world too. 

 

What are you doing here?  You have a response to that which is impacting the story you tell yourself.  And God is seeking to help co-author your response to that question.  May you today take time to listen, lean in, and learn from the One who comes with a still small voice today.  Amen.

Morning Meditation

 

In a book I was recently reading, the author asked a great question: ‘Growing up, were you told and taught that life is something to be endured, a constant struggle, and a slog to just get through??  OR were you taught that life is an adventure?’  I admit that the lessons I learned put me firmly in the first camp.  What I learned growing up was, to quote Norm from the television show, Cheers, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world…and I am wearing Milk Bone pants.”  The stories I heard as a child and teenager often focused on what was broken and who was to blame.  There was a powerlessness to it all, as if the world was out to get us.  And, of course, if something good did happen…well, enjoy it now because it won’t last.

 

Pause for a moment, what are some of the stories you can remember hearing growing up from parents, grandparents, aunts, teachers, pastors, and those around you?  Did the stories help you see the world as generative, generous, and grace-filled – like a seed scattering God?  Was there an abundance and awe to life – God who would plant seeds anywhere?  Or was the menu served in your home full of resentment, anger, and anxiety?  These stories shape us.  They impact and influence us.  Sometimes, because we love the people who first loved us, we can be defensive about the way we were taught to see the world. 

 

You have a story you tell yourself every day.  For example, you get stuck in traffic do you think: “Great, just my luck.  This always happens!”  Can that one moment ruin your whole day?  Or do you see being stuck in traffic as a chance to listen to your favorite music longer than you would on a normal commute?  As a recovering “life is a struggle and slog” person, I hear the chatter in my mind that tells me, “Humph, listen to music longer, what a silly suggestion!  I don’t want to be late (read here: seen as irresponsible or disrespectful)”  For us schooled in life as a struggle, especially when we have reached Jedi-level, our minds can twist and turn the most amazing moment into something that is lacking.  More and more I am realizing and recognizing that my running late because of traffic really isn’t going to be the worst thing ever.  Afterall, I am not late to perform major surgery.  Afterall, I have this amazing device called a “cell phone” and can usually call the person I am meeting to tell them what’s going on.  Afterall, someone must listen to 80s hair bands with nostalgia.  It is one of my gifts to the world.

 

This week, I encourage you to pay attention to the stories you are telling yourself.  These are, to use the metaphor from yesterday in church, seeds that are planted and tended in the soil of your soul.  I invite you to listen to the color commentary being offered by the chatter of your brain about what you are experiencing and encountering.  I invite you to be awake and aware for God’s voice, how God is tending the soil of your soul.  Tomorrow, we will turn toward and tune in to an ancient story about God’s voice.  But for now, may you and I listen to our words, pay attention to our responses and reactions, and see how God is seeking to co-author our story in such a time as this.

 

Prayer: Creating and collaborating God, when I get too focused today on all that is wrong, open my heart, ears, imagination, and life to remember that You bring life to mangers and tombs and to all sorts of places that are peculiar and odd and unusual.  If you brough life to the strange in the past, may I be open to You cultivating life in my soul today.  May this truth help me tell and live a better story in these days.  Amen. 

Tomorrow

 

Tomorrow, our son, Ethan, graduates high school.  The deeper truth is, that as parents, we are graduating too.  There is a new chapter both for Ethan and for us.  His chapter holds being a camp counselor and getting ready for college in a few months.  His chapter has plot points of new friendships that will form in the days to come, even as he continues friendships with those he has known for years.  His chapter looks toward crafting and creating life with God who is co-authoring with him.  Honestly, neither he nor we, as his parents, have any idea of all the other fish (experiences and encounters and events) that will get caught in the net of his life in the coming years.  For Gina and me, our chapter is about change where Ethan’s energy isn’t always present in the house and his voice won’t be there each night at the dinner table.  For Gina and me, our chapter is about new schedules that we can create without first consulting the school calendar.  For Gina and me, we also are graduating to a new way of being.  We rejoice with Ethan on this accomplishment and will cheer on his growth in the years to come.  We will continue to walk with Olivia into her senior year in the fall.  But, on the horizon, there is a change ~ which is why I offered you the quote from Joan Chittister yesterday.  Change, Chittister wrote, “demands that we be willing to believe that where we find ourselves now, bad as it may seem, must be at least as good – at least, eventually, as where we ourselves wanted to be.”  When we welcomed Ethan into our arms, our home, and especially our hearts eighteen years ago, we knew this day would come.  Part of the journey of parenting is that one day there is an empty nest.  Tomorrow is a moment when the past, present, and future all come together.  Tomorrow some things will end, some new ways begin, and other realities will continue.  After all we will still be Ethan’s parents.  We will still treasure memories of holding him as an infant, how he broke through every childhood lock we could buy for the kitchen, telling the story about the time in a basketball game he threw the ball through the bottom of the net and it came back down through the rim (the point counted by the way), when he discovered music as filling his soul, and celebrate how the ways he is shining his light as a young man in the words.  Endings and beginning and continued threads are woven together.  Tomorrow, we hold this holy moment, realizing all moments are holy.  There is more to unfold in the coming days.  Tomorrow, we will celebrate, shed tears, and know that this moment God is there remembering, blessings, and holding us in love.  I welcome your prayers as our family graduates, trusting God’s presence will be there with us.  Amen. 

Easter Continued

Joan Chittister wrote: “Unwanted change – the only kind of change that is real, if the ancients are to be believed – requires more than simply a transition from one state or stage of life to another.  It requires conversion of heart.  It requires acceptance.  It demands that we be willing to believe that where we find ourselves now, bad as it may seem, must be at least as good – at least eventually as where we ourselves wanted to be.  Conversion assumes an openness to the God of creation, of newness, of wonder and surprise.”  Scarred by Struggle; Transformed by Hope.

 

When I read the above quote, I had to stop, rewind, and re-read what was being said here.  First, the season of Easter is one that dances with change.  Jesus comes back to the disciples in bodily form and still showing the signs of crucifixion, yet the disciples don’t recognize him.  Something has changed about Jesus or something has changed within the disciples or perhaps both.  Perhaps what changed for the disciples was a belief that resurrection was true and could be trusted.  Perhaps what changed was the notion that following Jesus could mean letting Jesus’ light shine through us.  Perhaps was changed was something so deep on a soul level the disciples could not articulate what was stirring and swirling.  Perhaps, resurrection, can be that “unwanted” change.  Unwanted, not because we don’t deeply desire the full, abundant life of Jesus; rather, unwanted, because what being a disciple will change everything.  It is, as Chittister suggests, more than just a transition.  It is more than being whisked away to some exotic location.  It will ask us to be open to God in ways that will challenge our control and ask us to respond to others in ways that go against the scripts of life.  No longer will success be defined as fame, fortunate, and followers on social media.  No longer will we compare ourselves to others.  No longer will we race and run through life.  Resurrection can convict and compel us to live with wonder and surprise each day.  This is why I believe Easter is fifty days, we need to practice prayerfully this way of being and living.  We need to be honest that this doesn’t come naturally and can feel abnormal.  What will our friends think when we are kind to someone who hides knifes in words rather than offering a sarcastic comment?  What will people think when we stop playing a game where there is some imaginary score board out there?  What will others say when we stop complaining, start naming and noticing that amid the brokenness there is blessing?  Will anyone understand the sort of seismic shift in our soul?  That no, things are not always awesome, but is it really our job to be the savior/superhero of the world?  Or is our job to participate in what the holy is preparing?  How can we know what God is setting before us if we never slow down or stop long enough for God to get a word in edgewise?

 

So breathe today.

Prayerfully ponder what is in your net?

Examine the fish (that is, the experiences and encounters and events and people and places);

Listen for God’s wisdom to help you sort through how all that we carry can shape us;

Listen for God’s wisdom as you craft a response.

 

May you know more than a trace of God’s grace; may you be lost in wonder, love, and praise.  Amen.

 

Battery Check part Three

 

How is the battery of your soul doing today?  Does it need to be re-charged or replenished?  Sometimes we can connect to a source of energy that charges our battery in less than helpful or healing ways.  I can think that overscheduling myself can feed and fuel my life, only to find that I am always running on fumes.  I can think that I have to do this, I must do that; only to find some obligations are not holy.  I can get caught up in reading off a script of life where I am an actor playing a role I think I am supposed to play, rather than an agent called to let my life shine in ways that the world may not recognize or realize was possible or plausible.  To be sure, when you shine your light, some people are going to comment that what you are doing is too bright or you are doing it all wrong.  When we offer our light to the world, some might want to squelch or put a basket over our light.  

Not everyone is going to sign up to be president of your fan club, or even want to be a card-carrying member.

 

That hurts.  We like it when people like us.  It is a desire of the human heart.  And while we can nod our heads that we can’t be all things to all people, at the same time secretly in our hearts we plot and plan to win over 99%, only to find that we still want that last 1% to join in the fun.

 

How is the battery of your soul?  Today, can you find ways to tend your life and light?  Take care of yourself physically, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally.  Choose one way you might do this.  You might go get a massage or go for a walk.

You might talk to a counselor, your pastor, or a friend about both the good and not so great in life.

You might read the Bible passage for Sunday (Matthew 13:1-9) or pray.

You can notice your breath.

 

There are countless way to collaborate and create with our Creator this Wednesday.  There are countless ways God can help you co-author the story you are telling yourself.  There are countless fish (experiences and encounters) to be caught.  There is a holiness today.  Today is a beautiful day to live holy and wholly held by God.  May you and I be intentional and turn our attention toward God’s presence here and now.  This is the Easter way of life.  Alleluia and Amen.

Battery Check Part Two

 

Yesterday, I invited you to do a battery check in your life.  I encouraged you to listen to your life.  I encouraged you to be aware and awake to the stories you are telling yourself about your life and the running commentary of your mind.  This is a prayer practice that takes time.  Actually, this prayer practice takes a lifetime.  There is no grand prize when you finish line.  This is not something you can cross off your to-do-list.  There is no moment when all the pieces of the puzzle of life finally fit together and you are done. 

 

To be sure, there are glimpses of grace, there are holy hints, there are lights of love in our lives. 

 

Pause with me to name and notice how you have seen the Lord so far in May?  I sensed the promise of new life at a concert with Ethan, talking to Olivia, and savoring ice cream with Gina.  I sense God last night at dinner.  I sensed God’s love as I listened to music and walked in silence.  As I survey what is in the net of my life so far for the month, I see fish (read here experiences/ encounters) that have fed me…and I see a few fish (events) I would like to toss and throw back.  I might be stretching the metaphor too thin, but not every fish (whether it is an experience, encounter, person, or place) will feed you.  And, I also want to be careful not to think that I am such a great fisherman that I have this all figured out; as if to say to God, “I’m good.  I know exactly which fish are good and bad.  You can go do something else.”  I need more wisdom as I sort and shift through the net of life.  I need more companions who will sail the seas of life alongside.

 

May you and I this day and week, be open to what is filling us and what is causing tears in the nets of life.  May you and I listen to the truth that sometimes an irritation can be a teacher and sometimes we need better boundaries.  May you and I continue in this season of Easter to let God co-author our story of life in ways that help us live love and as Easter people.  May this be so for all of us.  Amen.

Battery Check

 

The other morning, I was out for a jog and my Fitbit watch vibrated on my wrist.  I looked down to see an image of a red battery declaring I only had 5% left.  Even as I tried to hurry home, the watch shut down, turned off, and went blank. 

 

The battery gave out.

The watch stopped counting my steps and calories.

Whomp, whomp…insert sad face emoji here.

 

I sometimes wish my soul had such a feature to tell me when I was running on empty.  I wish my soul would shout out, “Hey! Time to go walk in creation and leave your cell phone at home!”  I wish I would get a text message from God saying, “Wes, remember the church will be okay without you racing and running all around.  You don’t, like Peter, have to haul the net ashore all alone.”

 

The truth is, that actually happens, I just don’t pay attention.  There are moments I feel agitated or take out my anger ~ which is my soul saying something is not right.  Instead of asking what the irritant is trying to teach me, I push the pain off on others or blame “them”.  There are times when the constant drip, drip, drip of negativity weights down my heart and yet I keep consuming more bad news, wondering why I don’t feel so good?  The constant overflowing calendar at once can exhaust us, but secretly our shadow side likes to know that we are needed and necessary.  Yet, is life lived at a blur the best way?  When do we, like Howard Thurman, sit under an oak tree to listen?  When do we, like Wendell Berry, rest in the peace of wild things?  There are times when I need to go read a good book or laugh with my family or just breathe and be.

 

One of the ways we can tune into how our soul is doing is to listen.  Listen to the stories we are telling ourselves and others about life.  Are we talking only about the bad things?  Are we so laser focused on the brokenness out there, while our internal color commentary in our minds continually points out all our flaws?  See how lethal that combination is ~ when the outer and inner worlds are so tattered and torn the nets of our life often feel empty.  When the internal and external world are lacking, the nets of our life won’t catch anything.

 

Too often we reduce life thinking that you are either pessimistic or optimistic ~ you can either see the glass half full or empty, “thems” are the choices I was told as a child.  But there is a way to be thankful for the water in the glass!  There is a way that allows space for both lament and love; for both tears and laughter; for both grief and gratitude.  This is a muscle we need to exercise regularly.  For example, this week, our son will graduate.  My heart is so full it could burst.  I feel both joy as I look back on the last 18 years as well as seeing the boneheaded mistakes I made.  I rejoice as I see him grow up and sometimes wish for those sleepless night when I would carry him in my arms to get him to fall asleep (never thought I would want those days back!)  I know the tears of joy for this important transition, something is closing, and something is beginning.  All this and so much more sits on the shelf of my soul. 

 

To do a daily battery check is part of these morning meditations.  To hold the question, how is it with your soul?  Or to use the question from last week, what is caught in the net of life?  How can the things on your calendar ~ events and experiences ~ open you to the Eternal?  Where is there space on your calendar?  One way to charge your battery is through practicing gratitude.  Another is by sitting long enough to slow your breathing.  Another is to keep completing the sentence, “I have seen the Lord…”  Another is to sing.  Another is laugh.  Another is to do something that makes you feel alive; like writing bad poetry as I often share with you. 

 

The world needs people who are fully alive, Howard Thurman said.  How are you embracing and embodying that quote this day and this week?  May your responses help charge the battery of your soul each and every day.  Alleluia and Amen.  

Prayer for the Net of Life

 

Gracious God thank you for this week, for the vast variety of experiences and events that has filled the net of my days.  Thank you for ordinary moments when I sensed Your grace by doing something that was routine – dishes or laundry or going to the store.  Thank you for moments when a tear or a rip in the net of life was repaired as a friendship was mended; thank you for a time when what was tangled/twisted problem was smoothed out.  Honestly, O God, there is still much in the net of my life I would like to fix, and I often miss the goodness of the daily catch in life.  I get so caught up in what is missing or could be better, that I miss the fish of Your love feeding and sustaining me.  Help me feast on my life.  Help me show up and open up to You and to this day You have made.  Help me enter the holy mystery and participate with You on art project of life.  Let Your love be my guide and ground me and be found in me every moment and in each interaction today.  All this I pray as I seek to live the Easter mystery.  Alleluia and Amen.

Morning Meditation

 

Today, we pause and breathe.  Today, we reflect on what has been caught in your net this week.

Where has there been a moment of joy?

Where has your heart felt heavy?

 

Breathe in the goodness, breathe out thanksgiving.

Breathe in the hurt, breathe out the ache.

 

What has filled the net of life so far?

What has drained you, left you worn or torn as you hold the net of life this week?

 

Breathe in the holy hovering, breathe out moments our hearts overflowed.

Breathe in the moments our like Peter we tried to haul in the net all alone, breathe out the obligation to solve everything.

 

Breathe in the holy questions that guide us, breathe out the need to know every step along the way.

 

Guiding God, let Your wisdom find space and voice in our lives with every inhale and exhale this day and this week.  Alleluia and Amen.

What's in YOUR Net - heartbreak and hilarity

 

Did you know that yesterday, May 10^th, was National Clean Your Room Day?  I thought, according to my mother, that was every day!  Today is National Eat What You Want Day…but only if you cleaned your room, Mister!  Tomorrow is National Odometer Day, which makes me wonder, why is that a thing? 

Yes, we could be critical and cynical, make a sarcastic comment about how there is a day for everything.  Or, we could laugh and hold this lightly, be in on the joke ~ find the joy in these days.  Yes, it is a little strange to have a day designated to hummus (which is on Friday) and apple pie (also Friday ~ so your menu for that day is now planned!).  But I also think that there is joy in celebrating the obscure and odd ~ like National Dance Like a Chicken Day on Saturday.  Too often we are caught up in the heartbreak and we wonder, “Where is God?  Why doesn’t God just swoop in like a Superhero and solve all these problems for us?”  This is an ancient question.  When we read Scripture, we see questioning has always been part of the human condition.  You could turn to the stress and struggle of the people in Egypt enslaved.  They are liberated, only to wander in the wilderness for forty years ~ that’s a long time and a lot of walking.  They reach the Promise Land ~ yay!!  But Moses dies before crossing over ~ gratitude and grief sit side-by-side.  The people of God settle in, but immediately they want a king, someone to rule them, tell them what to do, even though they have God’s guidance and fled from Pharoah ruling over them and telling them what to do (notice the contradiction?).  Over the years the kings are fully human, they do good things and some not so great things.  Eventually, the people are conquered and carted off to live as foreigners in a foreign land of Babylon.  Prophets try to call people back to right relationship with God.  Often, the prophets words to change hearts fall flatter than my jokes on Sunday morning.  Eventually, God enters this world in the vulnerable form of a baby born to unwed parents and laid in a manger ~ how is that for a grand entrance?  Jesus was a poor, itinerant preacher from a minority religion, who is eventually crucified as a common criminal of the state on a cross ~ when you hold our sacred story this way it really does give us pause to ask: what really is the definition of successful?  And sprinkled throughout Scripture is Sarah laughing; David dancing before the Ark of the Covenant; Jonah being swallowed, gulped, by a whale; and Jesus laughing as he tells parables that perplex us still today.

 

Joy is built and baked into the story too.  Heartbreak and hilarity are all part of the holy.  We just tend to focus on one or the other.  So today, May 11, thank a receptionist and school nurse ~ both of whom are to be honored today.  Tomorrow write a poem in honor of national limerick day (It is a thing according to the internet).  And on Saturday, do something to honor National Stamp Out Hunger Food day as well as practice National Decency Day.  On second thought, let’s make every day feeding others and national decency day for the rest of the month and year.

 

Now, if you excuse me, I need to get ready for Sunday.  No, not my sermon.  May 15^th is national take your parents to a playground AND national chocolate chip day, which I intent to celebrate.

 

Prayer: Thank you, O God, for this day.  This incredible day.  This day that holds more than I could ever explore or exhaust.  Thank you for ways that I can laugh, make a difference, and get caught up in Your unfolding story.  Help us discover ways You are at work in our lives and world.  In the name of the One who taught us how to show up and open up, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

What's in Your Net Today?

 

When Tuesday arrives with a long list of things to do;

And the weather pattern of your soul is gloomy or blue;

You don’t know if you have the strength to see today through;

But you get up, get your coffee and cereal and start to chew;

You scan the headlines, your calendar (your net) searching for something new;

The internal clock says it’s time to go, up and at ‘em, put on your shoes;

You run though the drive through, bank, doctors, life spent in a queue;

You go about your day, so fast and frenzy, the scenery is a blurry view;

Suddenly, you remember the Easter promise, life holds another clue;

To slow down, breathe, hold lightly the good and bad, let God be the glue;

That you don’t have to push, pull, white-knuckle, control, and always stew;

There can be a way of life lived where you exhale and your souls says, “Whew.”

This is the day God has made and God’s love is seeking you to woo;

So you open your hands, heart, let God interrupt and get in a word too;

Let laughter be a prayer; and silence fill your soul; and grace in your heart brew.

There is another way to be in the world today, beyond the gray color of hue.

Rather a hope, peace, joy, and love that is seeking now to breakthrough.

 

I pray today, in this season of Easter, you will find playful and prayerful ways to move about your life.  I pray you will be surprised by the Sacred.  I pray you will be earnest and authentic.  I pray you will be honest and heartfelt as you fish your way through today.  And the above amateur poem of help you fish in life differently today.  With great love to you all!

What's in Your Net

 

⁹ When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them, and though there were so many, the net was not torn.  John 21:9-11

 

One hundred fifty-three fish, that is a lot of fish.  I picture fish of every shape, size, shade, and species.  A vast variety, a delightful diversity, and an astounding assortment.  Step into this scene with me.  See Peter’s muscles strain and sweat on his forehead as he hauls the net ashore.  See Peter, who was already soaking wet from his morning swim, trying to do it all by himself.  Did you catch that in the story above?  Oh, that one might connect with all my Type-A over-functioning tendencies.  Witness the holy mystery of a moment that Peter had done countless times in his life as a fisherman.  Remember, fishing for many of the disciples was not a vacation, but a vocation.  They had hauled in nets so many times, they could do it in their sleep.

 

But this was different.

 

When the holy shows up in the ordinary.  When God moves amid a moment we are going through the motions.  That can happen in our lives each week and we miss it.

 

As I step into the scene, I also see the humor and joy of it all.  I wonder, why did Peter put on clothes before diving into the water?  But then I wonder why I do the strange and silly things I do.  I wonder, who counted the fish?  Seriously, did Peter go over, haul in the net, then start counting?  Did everyone have to wait for him to finish before they had breakfast?  How long did that take?   

 

But the question that sits on my soul is, what is in the net of your life this week?  You can answer this with the events on the calendar or go deeper with what is on the shelves of your soul.  You can answer that question emotionally or physically or spiritually or relationally.

 

What is in your net?  The vast variety of moments that we both plan and those that show up unannounced on your doorstep.  Remember, we don’t do this alone.  Jesus is already cooking up a sacred presence to feed us as we move about our day.  Or as I said yesterday, Jesus prepares and we participate.  That is a mantra for every day.  This mantra builds on the Easter-ing mystery.  Life doesn’t just happen to us, we show up, open up, and participate.  We get to co-author the story we tell ourselves.  It is collaborative and cooperative with the Creator. 

 

What is in your net as you start this week?  Name and notice, bring to your awareness to what you carry.  As you move about the week, continue to see what gets caught in your life amid the sea where you find yourself.  I pray, deep in my heart, you have more than 153 experiences and encounters with God’s grace and love this week and this makes all the difference.  Amen.