Through Stained Glass: Gratitude Examen

“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything [God] has given us - and [God] has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of [God's] love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from [God].
Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”
― Thomas Merton

Grateful.

Thankful.

            Synonyms.

                        But with an exception.

The dictionary says this about the subtle difference between the two:

Thankful is defined as “conscious of benefits received.”

while

defining grateful as “appreciative of benefits received.”

Notice the difference? It is in the way we experience being thankful and being grateful.

To put it in an even more straightforward way: being “thankful” is being aware of benefits received;

                                                       being “grateful” is appreciative of benefits received.

Make sense?

Let me try one more time.

Being grateful is different than being thankful in that gratitude necessitates that we are first affected by one another. Gratitude is the complete package. It not only says, “Thank you,” from your mouths but also from your heart. This is why gratitude is an essential spiritual discipline. It is a practice that not only changes the human body physiologically but can alter a community’s spirituality as well.

Gratitude can be compared to what happens in the story of Jesus healing the Ten Lepers in Luke 17. All ten were cleaned, but one was healed. The healing came when the one foreigner, the Samaritan, came back to Jesus and prostrated himself at Christ’s feet—a sign of deep gratitude. In that moment of contemplation, the leper was restored not only to the community but to himself as well. Gratitude is about naming the presence of God in our lives and the ways we have encountered Her graces.

The photo above is something for which I am grateful. Three Sundays ago, we invited you to write down your joys, concerns, confessions, and celebrations on four different pieces of colored tissue paper. They were then transformed into a variety of flowers—a simple grade school art project. The reasons why I am grateful for these flowers are many. First, most of you gave yourself over to the invitation, which meant you believed the process that was unfolding before you. Another reason I am grateful is that the prayers written on those sheets of paper were honest, real, and beautiful. You gave me the gift of getting a peek into your hearts, which are creative and compassionate. Finally, the project made me appreciate your participation because you helped me feel and become more aware of God’s presence in our community. And over an hour or so of folding, cutting, and bending pipe cleaners, I encountered the Triune God in the voices, pictures, and words of this church.

As we enter deeper into this stewardship season, I invite you to practice gratitude. I believe that if we all take a few minutes a day to pause and name the things for which we are grateful, not only will our hearts soften, but the heart of our community will as well. If we do, I think we will discover precisely what that tenth leper did: we will find out what happens when gratitude spills over into love. When we are stewards of our gratitude, we will move from being made clean to be being healed.

Need help incorporating the practice of gratitude in your life? Here is an easy way to do it using an ancient prayer. This is a version of the five-step Daily Examen that St. Ignatius practiced.

1. Become aware of God’s presence.

2. Review the day with gratitude.

3. Pay attention to your emotions.

4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.

5. Look toward tomorrow.

 If you would like more information about each step, follow this link to learn more about the Ignatius Examen. 

Through Stained Glass: Evolving Creation

Space is evolving. So is the art. But also, the conversations are expanding. Who knew that a blank piece of paper, crayons, and paint, along with a few snacks, could open the world of possibility, creativity, and friendship? The craft of creating space for community is unfolding organically, and it is beautiful. The Center for Creativity and Community is embodying the relational nature of God and reflecting the love of First Presbyterian Church.

The creative process is just that, a process. It takes time, energy, and patience. The great artists didn’t become great overnight. The painter Michelangelo was so engrossed in his projects that he would go days, even weeks, without changing his clothes. A quote often associated with the talented artist is “Critique by creating.”

The queen of poetry in the twentieth century, Maya Angelou, would rent a hotel room for months to write her poetry. She said, “To write, I lie across the bed so that this elbow is absolutely encrusted at the end, just so rough with callouses. I never allow the hotel people to change the bed, because I never sleep there. I stay until twelve-thirty or one-thirty in the afternoon, and then I go home and try to breathe; I look at the work around five; I have an orderly dinner—proper, quiet, lovely dinner; and then I go back to work the next morning." Angelou understood energy.

The prodigy rapper, Chance the Rapper is one of the hardest working artists creating music today. Chance set himself apart in the industry by being an artist who operated outside of the mainstream system. His organic approach took creative patience that has impacted the rap scene in a way, unlike any artist ever has. Up until his latest release, Chance created his music for free. In 2017, Chance became the first streaming-only album to ever receive a Grammy nomination. The patience paid off.

The commonality of all three artists is that they took the time needed to create these gifts. The argument can be made that these greats weren’t interested in being great, but to get out the creativity that was planted within them. The idea of keeping it bottled up was too high a risk to take. By sharing their light, they have made the world brighter. From Beethoven to Cher, from Salvador Dali to Dolly Parton, from Chet Lord-Remmert to Laura Elliott, from Lin-manuel Miranda to Julie Kasa, from crocheters to crock-pot cooks, from the weekend crafter to the prolific planter, and every artist in between, the importance of the creative process is as necessary to living into their light as the very air they breathe.

The world needs your creativity. The entirety of the story of God as found in our sacred text, The Bible, is about God creating order, disorder, and then reorder, by and through the act of creation. The process, like making a cake or writing a song, takes time, attention to detail, trial, and error, as well as trust—not only in the process, but also what we bring to the table.

The joy in creativity is found in the community—which is the gift of we call faith!

And it is ever-evolving, always inviting, expanding to reorder the gift of creation!

Through Stained Glass: Resilient Request

As I have mentioned before, creativity has been on my mind a lot this summer. In working with the students at The Center for Creativity & Community, I rekindled a bit of my own. I have returned to a couple of projects that I had previously put to the side because 'were these projects really worth my time?'

The answer: yes. Always yes, when it comes to expressing your creativity.

Why?

Well, creativity makes you feel good about yourself.

Being creative can lower stress and reduce anxiety.

In fact, psychologists found that when people are creative, they have an upward spiral of wellbeing and creativity. Further, the psychologist found that this increased wellbeing leads to more creative activity in the days to come! [For more about this, read this article.]

Basically, when you are creative--whether it be writing, crafting, painting, gardening, CREATING--you are likelier to be happy!

Think about this theologically. God responded to God's love by creating! And now, as God's beloved, we get to create with God the reign of Love here on earth.

At the core of who we are...we are creatives. I find this comforting and inspiring. Knowing that when we bring together our gifts/abilities/talents/energies, we can create a great mosaic complete with beautiful music and delicious snacks.

With all that said...

I am a part of a project next month that is focusing on Gaining Resilience In Teens--G.R.I.T.

Basically, it is a program for 7th-grade students to learn about the importance of self-care and drawing healthy boundaries.

Your pastor was fortunate enough to have been invited to speak at this said event. My topic will be this:

The Creative Quest: Becoming Who You Want to Be By Being Who You Are: “You can do anything you want.” These are words often said by adults long set in their ways doing what they (hopefully) love to do. But what happens when what we want to do is no longer an option? Or, if you’re like many people, what happens if you don’t yet know what you want to do? Our culture tells us we should be productive by becoming “something”...what if we consider what might happen if we choose to become “someone”? Our time together will reveal the one truth about all people: we are creative beings capable of inspiring beauty into the world. The key to happiness is never forgetting that the creative quest is an ever-evolving process that requires two things: *only and always* for you to be true to you! Speaker: Adam Quine

I am looking forward to this opportunity to talk to students about a few of the things I love!

I need your help, though. The event, which is on Friday, September 13, 2019, at The Christian Church in Lincoln, needs some volunteers. We need folks to be 'hall monitors,' 'hosts for the teachers while their students learn,' and 'other exciting but easy gigs.' You can see our needs and sign up where you can by following this link:

https://volunteersignup.org/XQEJB?fbclid=IwAR0TId6dhTcATxkPNMqNV4ztTAvw30q30UC3f1eSEMNuSelN6RHkNLBbZ1Y

Or by clicking here.


Remember, friends. We are all creatives. There is no such thing as a non-creative person.

So, I want to know. What are you creating these days?

I hope you will share it with me.

See you at the kirk house!

Through Stained Glass: August Angst

Oh, teach me in each moment
of every Now to know that
You are the Here in all my
wandering and the Yes in
all my wondering and the Love
in nothing less than everything.
~Meister Eckhart

I am not a fan of this time of the year. Honestly, this is the only time of the year when I wish for someplace else. Specifically, a cabin high up in the mountains where it is warm in the day time, and the evenings are cool enough for a fire. There’s just something about the unbearable heat, the relentless muzak of the cicadas, and the blinding light of the sky that makes me cranky. When will it end?

 If I'm honest, it is these very components of summer that ground me in the present moment. The dusty ground with the half-inch wide cracks have me pondering for what is my spirit thirsting? The sunflowers I waited in anticipation for to bloom, not stand half their height, weighed down by their beauty, and I ask, "What is weighing heavy on my heart?" My neighbor's oak tree stretches tall and wide, providing a cold shadow for Tecumseh to nap in, and I ask, "What is saving my life these days?"

It is easy to get dragged down by negativity. What the dog days of summer remind me is that not all is as it seems. Sometimes to see what good and beautiful gift sits before us, we need to consider the parts that get under our skin. All parts of life, every season, and all things under the sun make up this life. We need the hot days, and the cold days, we need the planting and the harvesting, and we need cabins in the mountains and chairs on the beach. Or as Richard Rohr says, “Diminishment and beauty, darkness and light, death and life are not opposites: they are held together in the paradox of the “hidden wholeness.” 

To see this 'hidden wholeness,' we might need to take a step back and view things from a different perspective. Rising above the negative thoughts might mean reframing a situation and asking a different or more profound question about the current season we are in. Yes, the relentless noise from air conditioners and the heaviness of the humidity are annoying. But what about this season is giving you life? 

The flowers? The sound of the marching band practicing on the street? The cool evenings we are gifted with once the heat gets out of the way? The thunderstorm happening right now that will give you more tomatoes? 

Wonderful, beautiful things are happening now. It's just a matter of perspective, right? Sometimes we need to check our brokenness in order to welcome God's wholeness--in which we exist!

So I ask you, friends, 

What can you see differently today? 

How are you encountering the Divine at this moment?

I can't wait to hear about what you see!

Through Stained Glass: Spider Prayer

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As I write this, a spider spins her web.

Around and around she goes, methodically, meticulously.

She weaves her way the way we walk a labyrinth, the way we pray.

The cicadas have silenced. The air conditioners still rumble.

Crickets. Tree frogs. And a low grumble from a Tecumseh dog.

In the distance, a train whistle blows. Above me bats flap their wings, eating the very bugs I want to escape.

Between the trees, a sliver of the moon plays peek-a-boo. The stars are doing their thing, too.

Did you know you can figure out the temperature by the frequency of cricket chirps?

It is warm out. A little sticky. Another train passes through town. I wonder out loud to Chloe where the passengers are going. Or what the conductor is hauling.

I wonder where we are going.

It has been a hard week for our country. And it is only Tuesday.

The stillness of the night is disrupted by a car speeding down Pulaski Street.

Crickets.

My prayer, amidst the finger-pointing and politicking, is that of the psalmist:

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

    How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I bear pain[a] in my soul,

    and have sorrow in my heart all day long?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Has God forgotten us? Has the One who created all things good turned Her back on us? Has God given up on us?

I keep praying:

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!

    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,

4 and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”;

    my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

Yes, God, consider our prayers, and answer us!

Crickets.

Yes, God, give light to our eyes, or we will sleep the sleep of death.

Tree frogs.

Yes, God, we are our enemies.

Silence.

I keep praying:

5 But I trusted in your steadfast love;

    my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

6 I will sing to the Lord,

    because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Right, God. Everywhere in the Bible poets and prophets, shepherds and bakers, those who climb sycamore trees and those who live by the sword, always…

Always…

ALWAYS…

receive the promise of hope, the promise of a new creation, the promise of your steadfast love in this moment.

The spider is gone now. She has reclused to her chamber. Tomorrow her web will be gone, destroyed by a rambunctious puppy or the dew from the rising sun.

Still, she will return with her courage to begin again.

Moving from the outside in, and then from the inside out.

Her work, like ours, is always beginning in a moment like this one.

Through Stained Glass: whoever has an ear (guest post)

Today's midweek reflection is by First Presbyterian Church member, mother, writer, poet, and whimsical warrior, Kelli Owens. She shared this poem last week at our Revelation Bible study. Her words were inspired by the text and the conversations we have had around the table. You can check out more of Kelli's writing at her blog by clicking here. 

whoever has an ear

last night it was the long, lonely howl of a coyote. a sound which ricocheted off the moon then traced edges of corn silk before landing on these ears made of earth.

wind turbines continued on their cyclical path in the growing darkness. i didn’t even need to see it. their perpetual motion thrummed against an indigo backdrop and reflected back the heartbeat within my ribcage.

and i can’t escape it this season, it seems. how we see with more than our eyes, hear with more than our ears. how subtle silence underlies even the noise. isn’t this the revelation of the fleeing prophet at the mouth of the cave? perhaps there is a way of entering life ear-first.

there are seals opened and those still bound fast. prose falls deaf before the latter. mystery embedded inside every hidden wholeness speaks the truest word. it’s subtle like rhythmic windmills and chattering corn stalks. we know in part and we prophesy in part.

yet what shall we do with these words:

there was silence in heaven.

Through Stained Glass: Hospitable Pork

Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them
space where change can take place. It is not to
bring men and women over to our side,
but to offer freedom not disturbed by dividing lines.
~Henri Nouwen

Why do I love the annual pork bbq?

Simple: hospitality.

We open our doors (literally!) and provide our community with good food, excellent fellowship, and festive musical atmosphere.

Yes, it is significant that 100% of our proceeds go to our local missions.

            Food for Thought.

            Coats for Kids.

What I love more, though, is that we have been doing this (in some way, shape, and form) for over 40 years. That’s longer than the people of God wandering in the wilderness!

I am always impressed with how we come together and make it all happen. Of course, we have Debbie and Charlise (and their committee [Ken & Keith]) to thank! I love driving around town and seeing our signs. And I especially love seeing the photos of the delicious desserts. [It gets even better when all that goodness starts rolling into the church!]

You all—wow. I am grateful for everything ALL of you do.

As we prepare for the big event tomorrow (or today, depending on when you read this post), a story from the Bible that comes to mind is one we will read from this Sunday. We know it well. It is the story of Mary and Martha. Luke tells it this way:

10:38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.

10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying.

10:40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me."

10:41 But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;

10:42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."

A couple things here.

First—this text is not criticizing the Martha’s of the world. Instead, the opposite, in my opinion. Jesus is inviting Martha to enjoy her work. She has put in the hours and effort, all of which is important. Now, she needs not to worry about all the things: ticket sales, press releases, and dessert organizing. Those have all been completed and what will be, will be.

Next--what Martha needs to do, what Mary was doing, was enjoying the moment. Participating in the now. Jesus invites Martha to be present with the communion taking place. Like Mary. Jesus brings to the forefront of what life together is all about:

                                                            presence.

Which is why I love this event so much. It is our chance as a church to provide a reminder to all the people pigging out (see what I did there?) that they are loved.

But also, and this is important—that the Martha’s are loved too.

Yup, drinks will need to be refilled (especially the water since it will be a chilly 90+ degree night); yes, the coleslaw will need to be stirred; and yes, the garbage will need to go out. But tomorrow is also about being with those we may not always have a chance to break bread with.

I love our annual pork bbq.

I love being with the Martha’s and the Mary’s.

It is a pleasure to be present with everyone and seeing the Gospel embodied in our generous hospitality.