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Summer Days

Posted in WONDER, tagged #just sit, #justbe, #noproductivitynecessary, #refreshment, #rest, #restwhile, #summerdays, #summerrest on June 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Summer has only just begun.

The warmth that beckons shorts, tank tops and bare feet. The shift from indoor work to growing flowers and vegetables. Then there is the break from work, from school (from the pandemic).

It is a season of altered reality, with sometimes tropical temperatures, reshaped schedules, more sunlight, a hiatus from work and rest.

As I sat outside the other evening, after a day of record-breaking temperatures, I did … nothing. Though I’d brought a book and my computer outside to read or write, not one moment of producing, accomplishing was had.

I just sat.

I listened to the (few) cars pass by on a busy roadway, admired the cloudless sky, inhaled the varied scent of so many summer flowers, felt the heat of the air on my skin, like a comforting, weighted blanket. My neighbor was outside watering flowers with his preschooler, my dog snoring in the chair beside me.

I realized that I was relaxed, at ease. Body, mind and soul united with my surroundings. Simply put, I (just) was … and it was good.

As one who likes being in movement, is fueled by productivity, this was a unique and wonderful experience.

Though I was not accomplishing or producing, I felt my inactivity was producing something great … rest was refueling my body, my mind, my soul.

After feeding the five thousand, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” (Mark 6:31)

After a wild day of meeting the needs of others, Jesus taught (by word and example) that refreshment, rest was warranted.

After this past winter, as this pandemic response eases, after a season of restrictions, and challenges, and so little of the things that normally refresh us in the midst of work and routine … this summer is a perfect time for rest.

So, go off by yourselves, to a quiet place and listen to the birds, stop and smell the flowers, look up at the sky and feel the heat warm your skin … and be refreshed.

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Who’s your Daddy?

Posted in FAMILY, WONDER, tagged #childrenofgod, #dadsday, #fathersday, #fathersdaystruggle, #whosyourdaddy on June 20, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Father’s Day can be difficult to celebrate … what to get dad? how to celebrate one who may shy away from celebration? dad may live far away? he may no longer be alive? he may have never been in your life? he may have failed you in a myriad of ways?

Father’s Day can also be difficult to be the focus of celebration … how does a giver joyfully receive? how does the one who is often the other parent adjust to the focus of everyone’s attention? how does one navigate this day where there are no children to father? how does a dad spend this day who has buried his child? how does a man navigate a father’s day full of regrets? how does he endure a day when the phone doesn’t ring, the door doesn’t open?

Father’s Day can be difficult to celebrate …

The Bible says much about fathers, fatherhood, being sons and daughters. Yet, for those for whom this day is more of a struggle, there is one verse that I think speaks to the struggle of Father’s Day (1 John 3:1) :

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.

For those who are the children who struggle with this day, I tell you that God is the father to the fatherless (physically, emotionally, spiritually). He is the good father, who will never leave. He sacrificed his best, his all for your eternity, both here in the is life, and the one to come. He will never let you down, he is always present.

For those who are dads who struggle with this day, God is your father too. He knows fatherly love, and sacrifice, and loss, and rejection. He knows the loneliness of the quiet of this day.

For all who struggle, whether as children or fathers, if we are children of the God of creation, if we have been given such love and grace from Him, may we bear his image in how we love and offer grace to those we call dad, son and daughter.

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Using Our Sense(s)

Posted in Nature/Creation, tagged #awakenoursenses, #morethanjustproduction, #remindersofjoy, #usingoursenses on June 18, 2021| Leave a Comment »

As I sat outside, feeling the warm sun on my skin, I thought of how this feeling has always made me feel so good, so grounded in the time and space I was in. I then reflected on other constants in my life that have an expected joy response, when I encounter them:

Things I see:

A sunrise or sunset can catch my attention and take me off to a happy place immediately. A hint of one coming might have me angling, walking or driving to position myself for a better view to appreciate the glory of such a sight.

Things I feel:

Rose petals, cat fur, pussy willows. They are all silky soft, lush between my fingers. They create a sense of warmth and pleasure.

Things I hear:

The delight of the dawn chorus of birds can bring a smile to my face like little else. For years in a previous home we would often hear the local coyotes cries at night, though haunting, they also were a reminder that we lived in a world beyond ourselves. And I cannot talk about sounds without mentioning the soothing sound of waves crashing on the shore.

Things I smell:

The scent of baking bread, rising from the oven, or lilacs in spring, or, perhaps best of all, in my estimation, the scent of wild roses. In an instant I am a child at my grandmother’s house, carefree and exploring. Salt air … to me that is the smell of growing up on the East Coast and when I arrived and inhale I know I have returned.

Things I taste:

Ah, that smell of the first, fresh coffee of the day. Folger’s had it right, when they said it is the best part of waking up. But, then the enjoyment of taking that first sip, the flavors awakening the taste buds.

Each of these sensory joys have memories connected, encouraging and delightful teleporters to other places and times. They bring a smile to my face, warmth to my heart. They are beyond the mind, the thinking that we humans love to spend our time on, they simply are reactions to stimulus that awaken a joy response.

The Bible uses the power of our senses to communicate His message to us frequently:

Psalm 34:8:
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!

Matthew 5:13:
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?

Matthew 13:16:
But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

Ephesians 5:2
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

John 20:27
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side.

Though our minds are fantastic, we were not simply created for what we produce, but we are also natural beings, created in the context of a world of senses. With these senses we can be reminded of joy, of delight and even of worship … not for what awakens our senses, but whom.

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You are Breaking New Ground

Posted in Nature/Creation, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #liminalspace, #newnormal, #poppies, #surrender, #surrendertogod, #youarebreakingnewground on June 15, 2021| 2 Comments »

As I walked, I glanced to the empty lot. Dirt and rocks, grass and weeds.

I became alert to the lyrics playing in my headphones,

“in the soil I now surrender, you are breaking new ground”

Then something caught my eye. Color in the middle of the dirt and mess. One solitary poppy, standing straight and tall, like an oasis in the midst of the desert.

The poppy, a symbol of peace, sleep, death. Growing in the midst of land in between what was and what will be.

I’ve walked that in between place, that liminal space. Knowing that what was is gone, what is to come is not yet announced itself.

I feel that with vaccines we are all planted in the dirt between what was and what will be. What is our new normal? Will it resemble our old normal? Do we want it to?

That beautiful flower, standing tall in a vacant place … reminding that life comes from death, that beauty can grow out of dirt and weeds, out of nothing.

“Break new ground. Plant righteousness, and harvest the fruit that your loyalty will produce for me.” It’s time to seek the LORD! When he comes, he will rain righteousness on you.” Hosea 10:12

surrender

new ground

We are required to surrender our today, to enjoy the fruit of the time to come. Though we humans are usually people of action, this is not a requirement through any effort, other than surrender. I love the Oxford dictionary definition of surrender, “cease resistance … and submit to their authority.” We people aren’t so fond of submitting either! Yet, that is the surrender that God requires. It is what can carry us from what is gone to what is to come.

Through the dancing poppies stole
A breeze, most softly lulling to my soul.

John Keats

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Rest

Posted in Faith, life, tagged #createdforrest, #createdtorest, #faithisaconditiontorest, #givingintorest, #rest, #restingod, #restisapromise, #restisthebenefitofredemption, #restofgod on June 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »

As I stood in the kitchen a thought passed through my mind,

I need to sit.

So I walked to my sofa and I sat.

It was a simple, yet odd occasion.

I had a thought. A thought that originated in my body and mind. A thought communicated from my body to my mind. And, without pause, I responded immediately and physically. I gave in to what my body needed.

How is it that such a basic human need was met and yet, it is unique, worth reflecting on, worth writing about?

Our bodies deliver messages to us since our first days. As newborns we cry out our need of food, of discomfort. As children we fall asleep almost in motion, while sitting in our high chairs, car seats, in the sandbox. As teens we pass out while doing homework, we ravage the fridge when hungry. As adults we tend to ignore our needs. We ‘tune out’ the voice within, opting for the voices of could and should. We begin to fit a mold, as opposed to work as body and mind are designed.

Rest is a requirement of our bodies, minds and souls. It is a requirement for our lives. We attain rest not just in sleeping, but in coming away from our work, our mission even, to rest as God himself modelled on day seven of creation. When we seek rest, that rest needs to be rest that we find in God … for resting in Him is where we find complete refreshment.

Walter Kaiser quoted Gerhard Von Rad, in his observation of human rest :

“Among the many benefits of redemption offered to man by Holy Scripture, that of ‘rest’ has been almost overlooked in biblical theology….”

We can see the truth of this in Hebrews 4:1-13. Here’s a few excerpts :

Although God’s promise still stands—his promise that all may enter his place of rest—we ought to tremble with fear because some of you may be on the verge of failing to get there after all. (his rest is a promise … but with a condtion)

For this wonderful news—the message that God wants to save us—has been given to us just as it was to those who lived in the time of Moses. But it didn’t do them any good because they didn’t believe it. They didn’t mix it with faith (faith is the condition).

For only we who believe God can enter into his place of rest. He has said, “I have sworn in my anger that those who don’t believe me will never get in,” even though he has been ready and waiting for them since the world began (belief is a choice we are freely given) …

“Today when you hear him calling, do not harden your hearts against him” (listen … and rest) …

there is a full complete rest still waiting for the people of God. Christ has already entered there. He is resting from his work, just as God did after the creation. Let us do our best to go into that place of rest (to go into is to make the choice, the choice to listen to that still small voice …).

To rest in God is always a choice. It is ours to make. Life does not get easier or better, the realities of life (good and bad, pleasant and horrible) still happen. But, in choosing to rest in God we choose what our bodies, minds and souls most need … are created for.

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Class of 2021 … resilient

Posted in life, tagged #beginningsandends, #classof2021, #classof2021resilient, #covidgraduation, #endofhighschool, #futureplanningforthegraduate, #graduation, #graduationblessings on June 9, 2021| Leave a Comment »

It is high school graduation time again. The season of finals is upon us. Final classes, final assignments, final exams, final walks down the halls, final bells ringing in their ears.

Moms of grads don’t think of these endings, so much as the many beginnings in earlier years. The graduate’s birth, first steps, first days of kindergarten, grade one, first overnight away from home, first heartbreak, first performance (sport, arts etc.), first time behind the wheel, first day of high school.

I feel a bit like those moms.

I remember September of 2017. It was my first day in a new job, at a new high school. I was scheduled to start the day in a learning support class in another part of the school, along with my colleague. We walked in to a class of maybe six students, three in grade nine and three others … I really don’t remember them well. It was the ninth grade students who I remember, maybe because they were feeling all of the newness, stress and awkwardness that I was feeling.

Now they are graduating.

Working in learning support, I got to help these students to understand and complete their assignments, break them into smaller chunks, help them create a plan for completion, sometimes the job is to just sit in a seat, silently (or not so silently) and cheer them on.

But, I also got to hear about them, their lives, their families and friends, successes and struggles. There have been hours of research, and discussions, and paper-writing, and math problems, and laughter, and tears, and excitement, and discouragement shared together. I heard about their move to another house, the latest superhero movie, friend drama, fishing trips, first jobs, driving tests, vacations, pets, plans for the future.

And now they are graduating.

And more beginnings are ahead than what they have already experienced.

This class of 2021 is to experience yet another Covid graduation, filmed days ago, to be shown at a drive-in venue (in this particular high school). Nothing if not unique and memorable.

Because this grad class has experienced the past two years of high school while meandering through a pandemic, they have developed different skills and strengths than other grad classes. They have experienced forced group home school, followed by a final year with half-day classes, few field trips, post-phoned driving road tests, the wearing of masks (over mouth and nose (if I had a dime for every time I have made that reminder), no hugging of friends, eating lunch in a classroom, trying to sanitize your hands upon entering the school (while you are carrying books, lunch, a coffee and your car keys) and re-learning of hand washing skills.

Resilient … that is the word I think of when I think of these graduates. Often they have been more able to go with the flow than we ‘adults’ around them.

And if resilient is the word that signals the ending of high school, then it is also the word … the life-skill … that they take into their new beginnings.

When I think of this grad class of 2021, I think of 2 Corinthians 4:8-9:

“We are hard pressed on every side,
but not crushed;
perplexed,
but not in despair;
persecuted,
but not abandoned;
struck down,
but not destroyed.”

May they know the One who can give them strength, may they seek Him, may they hold tight to the only One who will never leave them, never abandon them, wherever they go.

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If-Then

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #conditions, #consequences, #followtheleader, #goldenrule, #ifthen, #loveandhumility on June 6, 2021| 1 Comment »

I am an if-then person. It is most encouraging, even comforting to me to know the effects or consequences of my actions. In my perfect world if I spend time making a good meal – it will taste well, if I am kind to others – they will be kind to me, if I eat a salad – I will awaken the next day having lost ten pounds (sigh).

As I was reading in Philippians (2:1-4), the other day, I was excited to discover an if-then statement (until I realized that I am the conditional part of this equation) :

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ
if any comfort from his love
if any common sharing in the Spirit
if any tenderness and compassion

Four ifs!

Lets take a look at them!

if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ
Encouragement from being united with Christ? Heck ya! I’ll be totally honest, I cannot imagine a life without the encouragement that Christ brings to daily life.

if any comfort from his love
His love is the ultimate comfort. Because of his love I can face any future, for he is the comforter of our souls.

if any common sharing in the Spirit
I am never alone, for the Spirit of God lives within me. He is my eternal helper, as Jesus declared in John 14:16.

if any tenderness and compassion
Have we any tenderness and compassion? Have we received these from the Creator of all? Have we been given compassion, albeit undeserved? But of course, yes to all!

then …

Here’s where the rubber meets the road! This is the consequence part, this is where we are responsible for something, because of what we have received.

then …

“make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others“

One could re-word all of this within the idea of the Golden Rule …

do to and for others, what I have done and for you.

This is not a suggestion, folks, but an expectation of those of us who claim the name of Christ as ours.

Love and humility … these are the gifts given to us, these are the mode of how we have been treated (undeservedly) by the God of all humanity. These are the expected byproducts of our receipt of his redemption, of his compassion, of his help.

May we honor Him as we strive to follow his example.

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Beginnings and Ends

Posted in Walking with God, tagged #alphaandomega, #beginningsandends, #cycleoflife, #firstandlast, #heknows, #startsandfinishes, #whoarewetofear on June 4, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Beginnings are great. We look forward to beginnings. Count down to them. Prepare for them. They come with feelings of novelty, fresh start, resetting.

Beginnings are the capital letter at the start of the sentence.

Endings often miss the adrenaline rush of beginnings. They signify completion, farewells, closing.

Endings are the period at the end of the sentence.

The thing is, they go together … beginnings and endings. One follows the other. Each are dependant on the other. You can’t have one without the other.

As this work week ends, the weekend begins. As spring is coming to an end, summer is going to begin. As the tulips and lilacs droop and complete their blooming season, the hydrangeas and roses are taking their colorful places.

This cycle of beginnings and endings is everywhere in our lives, reminding us …

of our Creator (Revelation 22:13) :

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Whether we are living in a time of beginnings or endings, we are living with the beginning, the end right along with us.

He knows what is going on in our lives.

He knows what has gone on in our lives.

He knows what is to come in our lives.

(Revelation 1:8)

Who are we to fear?

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The Bride’s Black Spot

Posted in GOD, WONDER, tagged #215canadadayofmourning, #215children, #howlongolord, #humbleourselves, #humbleourselvesandpray, #orangeshirtday, #tearsfromheaven, #thebrideofchrist, #thebridesblackspot, #thechurch, #thegatesofhellshallnotprevail on June 1, 2021| 1 Comment »

There she was … beautiful to the eye, beautiful to the heart.

She emerged, just as those who came to witness had anticipated. Dressed in white from head to toe. It seemed that light emerged with her, from within her.

Her face glowed. With each step forward, closer to him, there seemed to be an increase in her radiance.

Her lips moved …

she was singing. Though her words were not audible, her lips moved, over and over, singing thanks be to you.

Everyone in attendance was hushed, captivated, as in a spell. The attention of all was given freely, yet inescapably. For her beauty, her luminescence, her effervescence was wholly captivating, drawing the attention of each one in attendance fully to her, to him.

Her eyes did not look left or right. Her eyes were for him alone and he was her focus.

She was not born this way, though this was always her purpose, her destiny.

The closer she moved toward him, the more beautiful, more radiant, more pure in every way she became. For he was the source of her allure.

The way he looked at her … love, desire, hope for the future. She was that for which he was willing to sacrifice everything. She was his muse and he was her one true purpose.

The bride, who is the church of Christ. This is who He created her to be, in all of her beauty, and draw, and purpose. This was the intent of the Church, by the author of our lives. We are this bride, his bride, his church.

He spoke to Peter (Matthew 16:18),

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”

The gates of hell …

But what if gates of hell do seem to prevail … in the church?

This past week, here in British Columbia, Canada, we have been gutted to learn of the discovery of the remains of 215 children found at a former indigenous school. These were not graves with markers, with names, but the remains of the bodies, covered by the dirt, the dust of our feet. These remains are of souls who God saw as fellow members of the bride, his church.

We cannot imagine how humans could do such a thing. We cannot imagine how those who claim Christ, especially, could do such a thing(s).

We, who claim Christ, who are part of the Church are shaking our heads.

How can such evil exist under the name of God???

How can this be the bride of Christ???

We lament, “how long O Lord? …”

The Church has forgotten. We have forgotten our first love, our purpose, who gives life and breath. We forget who are … not because of how the world treats us, but because of how we treat each other … because we have taken our eyes of the bridegroom.

In the Word of God we are told over and over to choose humility, to pray. Perhaps this is where we must start.

Dear God,

We come to you, in humility.

We come to you with heaviness of heart and tear-stained faces. These souls that were lost each tell a story, each bore your fingerprint, your image. They were your children. We mourn for them, their families.
God we who claim you are aghast that anyone could do such a thing. And that they might have claimed to be part of your Church has us shaking our heads, bowing our heads.

God, we come to you and ask that you show us how to right the wrongs … these wrongs. How to end the evil within your Church … within ourselves.

Amen

“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” Ephesians 5:3-13

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When Life Gives you Lemons …

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged #abundantlife, #makelemonade, #maryoliver, #pandemic, #pandemicyear, #thegoodshepherd, #whenlifegivesyourlemons, #whenlifeishard, #wildandpreciouslife on May 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Hubby and I got to enjoy a meal, in a restaurant recently. What a joy it was to be seated at a table (indoors) and to have our meal served to us. We were also particularly impressed with how the restaurant had pivoted when indoor dining had been banned. They utilized one of their parking areas for covered seating which looked fantastic. In speaking with the owner, we learned that this outdoor seating was not going away, but has helped them to birth the idea of how to make this extra outdoor seating permanent and incorporated into their indoor seating. The owner said, “we had a choice, to curl up in a ball and cry or to think creatively. We chose to think creatively.”

It makes one think of the proverb, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

This pandemic year plus has been one of lemons … cases of lemons.

There is much that has been lost, missed. There have been sorrows, injustices and forced alterations to our lives.

There have also been discoveries, innovations and creativity that have been stirred into the mix.

Poet Mary Oliver said, “what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Wild, indicating the the unpredictability of our days. Precious, reminding us of the value of our life, our days.

John 10:10 tells us :

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.”

That is a verse about lemons. It is a verse that reminds us of how loved we mere mortals are, by the one who gives us breath.

Because sin (lemons) entered into our human DNA in the Garden, through the disobedience of man, we needed saving. Through the very son of God, whose willing death paid the price of that sin, we have been redeemed, made new. God could have left us as we were, but his love for us was too great for that.

Life delivers lemons … right to our doors. But we have been given the example of making something good, better out of what we are handed. What will we do with this pandemic (and the struggles and losses that have accompanied it)? What will we do with the other tough stuff, the sour stuff that enters into our days? Will we curl up in a ball and cry, or will we get creative, adding to the sour to create something sweet?

What will we do with this wild and precious life?

“I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11

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