That'll Preach

Every once in a while a preacher gets the opportunity to preach a sermon that speaks so clearly to the struggles of a congregation. It's as if the Holy Spirit comes rushing into your head and says, "Here, this is what they need to hear!" I preached one of those kind of sermons this morning. I began with a personal testimony about my experience of the gospel reading and then I tied it into the church's experience. I was so scared that I was literally shaking as I walked up to the pulpit. I was laying myself out to the congregation and putting myself out there with my testimony and then I was going to gently push them to change their thinking about some very troubling matters in the church.

The congregation was so quiet during my sermon that you could have heard a pin drop. After the worship service I was overwhelmed by the positive response to my sermon. I had so many people thank me for preaching what the congregation needed to hear. I am honored by the opportunity that God has given me to share the good news of God's grace and love for this church. I also know that God is saying to me, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Friday Five - Vacation Thoughts...

It is a holiday weekend here in the USA, and the weather forecast for this neck of the woods is great!!! So with that in mind I bring you this Friday Five.

1. Getting ready for summer, do you use the gradual tanning moisturisers ( yes gentlemen you too can answer this!!!), or are you happy to show your winter skin to the world?

I do not desire to get a tan so no gradual tanning moisturisers. I'm one to burn easily however because I am such an avid gardener I do get a tan on my arms and legs. By the end of the summer I get what we Americans call a farmers tan. You can tell fall is comming when I start look like the character Hank Hill with his shirt off. He's on "King of the Hill." (Shout out to my Texan BE buddies)






2.Beach, mountains or chilling by the pool, what/ where is your favourite getaway?

My favorite getaway is being in my garden knee deep in the dirt. Thus the Hank Hill look by the end of the summer.

3.Are you a summer lover or does the long break become wearing?

Summer lovin...had me a blast! Sorry couldn't resist.

I love summer, it is my favorite season and the hotter the better. I seem to thrive in hot and humid weather just like plants!

4.Active holidays; hiking swimming sailing, or lazy days?

I like to be lazy on my vacations, there's nothing better than sitting on a chair outside with a cool drink in my hand, a book on my lap and a lovely scene in front of me.



God_Guurrlll on deck

5.Now to the important subject of food, if you are abroad do you try the local cuisine, or do you prefer to play it safe?

Oh, that's tough. I used to be quite a risk taker in gastronomical adventures, however with age I have lost my intestinal fortitude so I am careful where I eat, especially when I am abroad. I refuse to eat from street vendors. I only drink bottled water or soda with no ice or something with alcohol in it to kill the germs :), I only eat thoroughly cooked foods and no salad or fruit (unless it involves alcohol).

I got tagged

I got tagged by Dogblogger

Rules:

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.Each player answers the questions about himself or herself.At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.Yadayadayada

What was I doing ten years ago:

Wow, I don't know if I can remember that far back :).

I was working for a financial services company in their operations department. It was not a good fit for me because I'm a peace and social justice kind of gal and my fighting the good fight wasn't greatly appreciated in that environment. I remember feeling lost, like my life had no meaning and I was drifting. I'm in a much better place right now vocationally and emotionally!

Five things on today's "to do" list:
-Go to the bank. (done)
-Write a lesson plan for a workshop I am leading in June. (didn't even start, oh well there's always tomorrow)
-Call the newspapers to followup on the press releases last week for a church event. (done, however on voicemail eeerrrgggghhhh)
-Enter 10 items into the media center computer catalog. (I have hundreds of videotapes to enter on the computer system, I set my goal to cataloging ten a day so I feel like I'm accomplishing something.
-Write an agenda for tonight's evangelism committee meeting. (done)

Things I'd do if I was a billionaire:
-I'd buy my seminary and start my own religion ;)
-I'd set up a charitable foundation.
-I'd travel, travel, travel and then do some more traveling.

Three bad habits:
-I eat way too many french fries with mayonnaise. I am going to turn into a french fry if I'm not careful.
-I watch too much TV.
-I have a tendency to isolate myself. Because I have such a people intensive job, the last thing I want to do is relate to people when I come home from work. However that leads to isolation and isolation leads to loneliness. I am making more of an effort to get together with people for fun things. Last night my partner and I went to a neighbors apartment to color pictures with colored pencils. Well they colored, I knitted and we all had fun.

Five places I've lived:
In my head I have lived in Narnia, 14th century England, the deep south (ala Rita Mae Brown), Hogwarts and currently I am living in a Oikaya (geisha house) in 1930's China. Where I really live...well I'll keep that close to my vest. I've only lived in two cities my whole life and it would encumber my anonymity to reveal those places on this blog.

Five jobs I've had:
-cashier
-sandwich artist (subway employee)
-accountant
-chaplain
-pastor

So that's my story and I am sticking to it. The five people I am going to tag are:

Songbird
Elastigirl
Kathryn
Willsmama
Verde

Friday Five better late than never!

A number of my colleagues are enjoying the festival of Homiletics. I wish I could go but I've been traveling so much my congregation is starting to forget what I look like. This weeks topic is about traveling so I couldn't resist. Just for fun I will include pictures in my narratives.

Friday Five: Grand Tour

Name five places that fall into the following categories:

1) Favorite Destination -- someplace you've visited once or often and would gladly go again.

I loved going to Europe and my favorite city was Paris. Here is a picture of the Sorbonne. It was lovely to walk the halls where St. Thomas Aquinas, Simone de Beauvoir, and Marie Curie walked. My partner had to keep me from kissing the floors as I toured the college.

2) Unfavorite Destination -- someplace you wish you had never been (and why)

I cannot say there has been anyplace I had never wish I'd been but there have been bathrooms in my travels that I would put in this category. There is a third world country which will remain unnamed that had the nastiest bathrooms in the world and of course I was sick with stomach ailments throughout that trip. At one point my roommates and I made a shrine in our bathroom to the porcelain God in hopes of healing.

3) Fantasy Destination -- someplace to visit if cost and/or time did not matter

I would love to be a space tourist! It would be amazing to fly above the earth and look out the window and see the moon as close as a pizza pie. If I could walk on the moon that would be extra cool.




4) Fictional Destination -- someplace from a book or movie or other art or media form you would love to visit, although it exists only in imagination


I would love to visit England during the time of King Henry VIII and be a character in a Philippa Gregory Novel. That is my favorite time period to read.

5) Funny Destination -- the funniest place name you've ever visited or want to visit



Hands down it would the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage Missouri. Several years ago my partner and I were visiting her relatives in Missouri and we made the pilgrimage to the Precious Moments Chapel and let me tell you it was precious. The picture above is a picture of the ceiling of the chapel, it is a replica of the Sistine Chapel ceiling done in precious moments baby's. Their eyes follow you every where you walk in the chapel. They really do...

Weddings

Many clergy resonate with the statement "I'd rather do a funeral than a wedding any day."

I've only done a few weddings and my last one was a doosey. The bride at this wedding was more concerned about the flowers, the dresses, how everything looked. She wanted me to rush through the ceremony so that the horse and buggy that she came in on could stay on the street during the ceremony (my town has a twenty minute limit on horse and buggy parking). That wedding was all show and no substance. I have no idea if the couple is together but it was the fairy tale wedding that the bride wanted.

Today I am presiding over a wedding that I am just thrilled and honored to be a part of. The bride and groom are in their forties, first time marriage for both. They grew up in our church and have been members of our church all along. They wanted to do the wedding at our church because spirituality is very important to them and the spiritual aspects of the wedding take precedence over the ephemeral parts of the wedding.

The rehearsal yesterday was fun! There was lots of laughter and joy. The groom teared up as we practiced the vows and I almost cried I was so touched. This is a wedding that I cannot wait to participate in. This morning I am nervous because I really want the wedding to be special for this couple and I don't want to flub up during the ceremony. I know it's God that will be joining them in marriage but I am the channel. God help me to be eloquent today.

Wait and Pray Friday 5

Part of the Ascension Day Scripture from Acts 11 contains this promise from Jesus;"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”Then he was taken from their sight into the clouds, two angels appeared and instructed the probably bewildered disciples to go back to Jerusalem, where they began to wait and to pray for the gift Jesus had promised.

Prayer is a joy to some of us, and a chore to others, waiting likewise can be filled with anticipation or anxiety....So how do you wait and pray?

1. How do you pray best, alone or with others?

I prefer to pray with others. There is a special energy that is shared by the group when we all are in silent prayer concentrating on that which is greater than ourselves. The presence of the Holy Spirit is palpable in the room.

2. Do you enjoy the discipline of waiting, is it a time of anticipation or anxiety?

I find times of waiting an anxious time. I want things to be done ten minutes ago yesterday however I am aware that God's time is not the same as mine. I am currently in an "in-between" time in my life and am praying for patience and peace, please God send that swiftly!

3. Is there a time when you have waited upon God for a specific promise?

There are many times that I have waited upon God for a specific promise. The thing that keeps bouncing around in my mind is the verses "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. " John 15: 12-14. Now I have asked God for some things and God answered my prayer with a no. At the time I'd be frustrated and discouraged however as I get distance I realize that no was the best answer. However, I do ask God for peace in the world, an end to homelessness, justice and such and I know that is what God wants for the world and yet injustice still exists and at times seems to reign. That is where I struggle with this verse.

4. Do you prefer stillness or action?

It depends on my mood. I've prayed both in stillness and action and find them equally nourishing. However my best praying has happened in the garden with my hands a foot deep in the dirt. It feels like I am touching God as I am talking to God when I am working in the garden.

5. If ( and this is slightly tongue in cheek) you were promised one gift spiritual or otherwise what would you choose to receive?

I would love to speak and understand other languages as the apostle Paul says, "to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues." 1 Cor 12: 10b. I enjoy talking to people and this would increase my pool of conversation partners!