Creation Awesomeness

I've spent most of the day monitoring the weather as we've gone from a thunderstorm complete with lightening, thunder and hail to sleet and now I'm watching huge snowflakes fall while waiting for the 50 mph winds that are expected to arrive soon. We're at the point of winter when most of us are ready to see the green grass and warmer days of spring. But there is something about a snow storm that I really like. I don't know if it's the beauty and quietness of the freshly fallen snow or the fact that it makes us stop our crazy fast-paced lives for a short time. On days like this I find myself thinking about the awesomeness of God's creation.

I would have to say that I really like the four seasons. About this time of the year, I get tired of looking at the bare trees and dirty snow and before I know it, the grass is green and the trees begin to open their buds. Then it’s nice to have long warm summer days to enjoy sitting on the front porch with a glass of iced tea. By August, I find myself complaining a lot about the heat and so the cooler days of September are always welcomed. Then the beauty of the fall colors take my breath away but before you know it, the trees are once again bare and so I enjoy the first blanket of snow. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” Ecclesiastes 3:1

For some reason the last few winters I’ve noticed a lot of hawks sitting in the trees and on the road signs. Every time I see one, I’m reminded of God’s amazing creation. Just yesterday on my drive I was treated to a red-tailed hawk and a bald eagle just a mile apart. Isn't God’s creation amazing and beautiful?

The variety of God’s creation became very real to me when I taught for a couple of years in an Environmental Education program at a Lutheran church camp in North Carolina. A lot of our field trip groups were 8^th graders wanting to do the pond and stream activity to go along with their water quality unit. We would hike with groups of kids to the pond or stream and with our highly sophisticated gathering equipment (Cool Whip bowls) we would collect critters from the water, look at them, record what we found and then return them to their habitat. Some days we would find nymphs of dragonfly, stonefly, mayfly, damselfly and dobsonfly and the larva of caddisfly and cranefly. It was always fun to find a strider or two on the pond water and the whirligig beetle. And even though the kids were 8^th graders, they would still laugh when they learned that the diving beetle came to the top of the water to breath air in through what looked like their butt.

Seeing the variety of God’s creation found in the stream in just 15 minutes always left me with a moment of wonder and awe at all that God has made. And it is good, very good! I often wonder about those that don’t believe in God. How do they explain the variety, the intricate details of every living thing?

“And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky." So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. “ Genesis 1:20-23

That Song in My Head (and Heart)

In my congregation the hymns for Sunday worship are selected by the worship team. It's interesting to see how a hymn that is one person’s favorite is despised by another person. I admit that I have my favorites but I’m also willing to try new hymns as long as they’re something that I can sing. My grandmother had a beautiful singing voice but for whatever reason that gene did not get passed on to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love to sing but unfortunately I’m often off-key or miss the beat. It’s a lot better for everyone involved if I keep the belting out of my favorite songs to times when I’m alone in my car or home.

In scripture we have the book of Psalms, a collection of prayers and songs composed throughout Israel’s history. According to my HarperCollins Bible, “’Psalms,’ is derived from a Greek term meaning ‘song.’ The Hebrew title of the book, Tehillim, means more specifically ‘hymns’ or ‘songs of praise.’" (page 797) I think of music and songs as something that God has placed in our heads and on our hearts. I am grateful for the composers and song writers that have created and continue to write just the perfect masterpiece.

I’ve always enjoyed listening to music. I remember my sister and I playing our Beach Boys 8-track tape so much that it just finally wore out. The best Christmas present I received as a teenager was my stereo that included not only the ability to listen to my favorite radio station but I could play records, 8 track and cassette tapes!

Me with my three children the day of my commissioning
 service at Campbell University Divinity School
September 2005 

Just as the book of Psalms is full of a variety of emotions and is associated with a certain period of time in Israel’s history, there are specific songs that I associate with particular times in my life. For example, I cannot hear “Born to Be Wild” or “Stairway to Heaven” without thinking about my Uncle Reese who was killed on his Harley Davidson when I was in junior high. Today I saw a picture on Twitter that Campbell Divinity School commissioned a new group of students. I was reminded of the day that I received my Divinity School pin and sang along with the other students “Here I Am Lord.” When I spent my Lutheran Year of Seminary 350 miles away from my husband and kids, I played Third Day’s Revelation CD over and over. Every single song on that album spoke to me as I wrestled with my unworthiness to be called as a pastor.

As I begin my 9^th month of life as a pastor, I have been feeling very blessed, pure joy at the vocation to which I have been called and the congregation that I serve. I know that life is a roller coaster and I’m sure the feelings of doubt and unworthiness will soon try and slip their way back to the forefront. When that happens I hope to be reminded of a song that God has placed in my head and on my heart, Jason Gray’s Remind Me Who I Am

What song or hymn is speaking to you at this point in your life? Is there a song that is that “one” that you associate with a specific joy or difficult time in your life? What song has God placed in your head and on your heart?

Blessed are...

I've spent the last few hours searching for that "perfect" photo from my daughter's high school years for something that will be a birthday gift. What I thought would be a simple 15 minute task turned into a "I'm too old to stay up this late" night. Why am I still up at 2:00 am? Because I keep stumbling across photos that trigger memories and along with the music playing on my Pandora station my mind just keeps wandering. I look at these photos of the time we spent living in North Carolina and I see an abundance of blessings. Which makes me ask, what does it mean to be blessed?

I really wish I had my sermon written by Thursday (sorry Dr. DeBrand) but in reality I can't seem to find the time to write it until Saturday. The gospel that we will hear on Sunday is Jesus as he begins his Sermon on the Mount "blessed are ..."

As I'm looking at these photos of the last 8 years or so of our life, I'm feeling so overwhelmed with God's blessedness. I can't go to sleep because my mind is now asking why am I so blessed? Jesus turned the ancient world upside down by proclaiming God's blessings on the lowest of people. Again, why did God choose me and my family to be blessed?

I think about the risk that was involved when we moved from the Quad-Cities, the only community we knew, to North Carolina. It was someplace we knew nothing about and definitely at times felt out of place. But what a gift and blessing for Jon and I and our three children to experience something new. Our oldest child was going into eighth grade, a very difficult time where most adolescents are trying to figure out who they are. And although it was difficult, what a blessing it was for her to be free from the mean girls that had been her best friends but in the last few years turned to bullying to try and gain their own "identity." Our daughter took a risk and lived as the beautiful child God had created her to be and in the process, realized that she was full of gifts, talents and a fun loving spirit.

The hardest part for us during the almost eight years that we lived in NC was the distance away from family--missing out on birthdays, holidays and other fun milestones. However, I can not even find the words to express the love and sense of family that we felt from our church family and our neighbors. The only word I can think of is "blessed" and so here we are back at the Beatitudes.

As I think about Jesus' words that would have seemed totally radical to those who heard it I can't help but think about how radical my own feelings and ideas seem. My emotions went from being scared about the unknown to how blessed I am from having spent almost 8 years 1000 miles from our family with a "family" that accepted us for who we are with our Midwestern flaws and all.

I'm still up at 2:00 am because I'm thinking about how truly blessed I am by the love of my family. At the same time, I am blessed by a group of people in NC. I don' t think our NC friends have any idea that their phone call invitation to the Farmer's Market, or invitation to go see salamander eggs on a spring Friday night, or the annual Memorial Day weekend trip to the beach was a blessing.

When we hear Jesus' words from the mountain as he spoke to the crowds and began with "blessed are they..."  I wonder how we can more intentionally bless those that God has called us to be with in our community. Are you blessed? If so, how?

Happiness

My CD player is broke in my car and I have a 50 to 60 minute drive to work so I'm constantly changing the station on my radio. In the last two days, I've heard three different radio stations mention a recent study that couples without kids are happier than those with kids. http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/14/living/parents-happiness-child-free-studies/

I unconditionally love my three children and can't imagine my life without them but at the same time, I loved their dad first. If I understand the recent study correctly, if I didn't have kids, I would be happier in my marriage than I am with my three children. I have a hard time believing this. But at the same time, I have plenty of friends without kids that are very happy. So who's right? I have to admit that I'm a skeptic when it comes to the latest "study" especially when you're trying to measure an emotion like happiness.

I think what the study boiled down to is how well do we tend to and nurture our relationships? My husband and I just returned from a belated 25th Anniversary trip where we enjoyed time together without our kids. As I reflect on our marriage and on our family as a whole, there are highs and lows, times where we were more happy than others. Nurturing our relationships can be A LOT of work and I think this is the reason why some relationships are stronger and more fulfilling than others. We have to be intentional about relationship building.

Just because of the way life happens, my husband and I are currently on our 2nd "living apart" phase of our marriage. And although we know it's only temporary, we know we have to be intentional about how we spend our time when we are together and keeping in touch and communicating when we're apart. Otherwise we begin to grow distant and are less happy. 

Sure I wish I was better at nurturing my relationships. I admit, I don't call my parents, kids, siblings and friends enough but thanks to Facebook and Twitter, I feel like I'm still in touch. The intentional work that goes into relationship building is fruitful and I do feel happier and less lonely when I've given the relationships in my life some attention.

So do kids make your marriage less happy? I don't believe so. What I do believe is that all of my relationships are grounded in the relationship I have with God. I am able to love my husband and children because God first loved me. We are made in God's image and are God's beloved children. When I'm tending to my relationship with God, I am often reminded of others in my life and take that as a nudge to reach out and be intentional about my relationship with them. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1 

  

Home for Christmas?

Here in central Iowa we are preparing for our first major snowstorm of the year. If I don't have anywhere I need to be, I just love a good snowstorm. I think it's because it causes us to slow down or sometimes literally stop and take a break from the busyness of life. There is also something about the stillness of the falling snow that no words can accurately describe.

As beautiful as it may be, I worry about my family members and others who are traveling this weekend. With this being the weekend before Christmas, there are many people on the roads and sitting in airports trying to get home to celebrate the holidays with their loved ones. The eight years we lived in North Carolina we always drove the 950 miles to come home for Christmas. We couldn't image Christmas celebrations without being with our families. What is it about "home?"

When my husband and I called a family meeting to tell our three children we were moving from Iowa, the only home they had ever known, to North Carolina, I remember saying to them, "Home is wherever we are together." I'm not exactly sure what I meant by that but I thought it sounded good as I tried to reassure our children who were 13, 11, and 8 that this major life change would be just fine.

As it turned out, the move was a very good thing for our family and I do believe there is some truth to my words of comfort to our children. Home is more about who you’re with than the physical place that you are in. I’m finding even more truth to these words as we prepare for yet another move. We felt very much “at home” in North Carolina when we celebrated Thanksgiving, Easter and other holidays with our neighbors and friends from church.

So what about those that will not be home for Christmas? In 2007, Josh Groban released his Noel album with “I’ll be Home for Christmas” that features soldiers speaking greetings to their family members. Six years later, that song still brings tears to my eyes for all of those soldiers and families that will be apart during the holidays. I also find myself thinking of those whose home life is anything but pleasant. There are people that are alone with no families, some who are physically or emotionally abused by their families and some that can only be described as dysfunctional. For these people, home can be a painful word and Christmas is anything but a joyous celebration.

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, Emmanuel, it is my prayer that people will know and be assured that God is with us, the literal meaning of Emmanuel. Since we are all created in God’s image, there is a longing and desire to return home to God. So on this Christmas, even though some people will not be able to physically be home with their loved ones, we are all able to be home with God, our Father and creator. Through God’s gift of a baby born to Mary, we are able to have a personal and intimate relationship with God. God has come to dwell among us and to bring us home. Will you be home for Christmas?

Advent Waiting

I've never been a very patient person so waiting is hard for me. I would like to think that with age, I've become a more patient person than I when I was in my 20s. And even though waiting is hard, I really like the season of Advent. The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival."  It's the time in the church year where we try to be intentional about preparing for Christ's arrival both as a child in a manager and in Christ's glorious return to judge the living and the dead.

We've been holding midweek Advent services using the resource from Sundays and Seasons, titled "The Gifts of Advent" and I believe Advent is a gift. It's an opportunity to come to worship not just on the additional Wednesdays but also Sunday morning and quiet our hearts in this busy time. There have been Christmas'of past where I've not prepared and I found myself empty and disconnected come Christmas morning.

God bringing his son, Jesus into the world on the first Advent is a gift I want to celebrate while I wait for Christ's return in the second Advent. I want to be prepared to celebrate Emmanuel, which means "God is with us." And although I know that through the power of the Holy Spirit, God is with us now, I still want to prepare my heart to receive the gift of Emmanuel born to the Virgin Mary. 

So as a way to prepare, we wait. We wait to put the poinsettias in the sanctuary. We wait to sing the full selection of Christmas Carols. We wait for God to gift us again with God's son, Jesus. In this season of Advent, may your waiting be fruitful and may this prayer guide your waiting.

You keep us waiting.
You the God of all time,
want us to wait for the right time in which to discover
who we are, where we must go, 
who will be with us, and what we must do.
So thank you...for the waiting time.

You keep us looking.
You, the God of all space,
want us to look in the right and wrong places
for signs of hope,
for people who are hopeless,
for visions of a better world that will appear
among the disappointments of the world we know.
So thank you...for the looking time.

You keep us loving.
You, the God whose name is love,
want us to be like you--
to love the loveless and the unlovely and the unlovable;
to love without jealousy or design or threat;
and most difficult of all, to love ourselves.
So thank you...for the loving time.

And in all this, you keep us,
through hard questions with no easy answers;
through failing where we hoped to succeed
and making an impact when we felt we were useless;
through the patience and the dreams and the love of others;
and through Jesus Christ and his Spirit,
you keep us.
So thank you...for the keeping time,
and for now, and for ever. Amen

Iona Community, Scotland