LIGHT

"You are the light of the world."

Matthew 5:14

I love the song by Cathy Pino based on this passage from the Gospel of Matthew.

"You are the light of the world. You are the light of the world, so shine, shine, shine where you are. You are the light of the world."

It continues with verses; "You are a city on a hill..." and "You are a candle in the dark..." and "You are a star in the night..." It's so simple, but so very beautiful.

The imagery of light is a powerful one in the Scriptures. God is portrayed as light, as giving light, as making us light. I think it resonates with many, because it is so primal. Who hasn't, at some time in their life, been afraid of the dark?

My Top Seven List of the things and people shining God's light in my life this week:

1. The women attending our Synodical convention for Women of the ELCA. They rock! We just had a wonderful worship service together that is still giving me a high.

2. My congregation's kids who are going to camp this summer and their parents. They're committed to doing this, even through the complications of it, because they know it matters.

3. A member of my congregation in tears tonight because she sees how much Christian fellowship matters, and she mourns that others are missing out on something so beautiful and meaningful.

4. The prayer requests at worship tonight: all the illnesses, weddings, changes, and births that make up our lives.

5. The dedication of some folks in the community who can't help but speak out about injustice and the needs of others, even in the face of apathy.

6. My sore back and exhaustion, fruits of a good, long, hard, rewarding day.

7. My daughter stopping everything to pray to God asking for a little baby brother or sister...with pink hair!

Just a Day Off

Picture This: I'm sitting on a thick towel on my driveway. Around me there is a large cardboard box for sticks, a red wagon for rocks, a small white waste basket for garbage, and a yard waste bag for leaves and plants. In front on me is a large pile of mixed up stuff which I need to sort out and place in the right containers.

This is my day off.

To be fair, that was just the morning, and in the afternoon we rested (once Lil' Princess finally fell asleep).

I rarely take a true day off, and I will have to do a little church related work today, but most of the day is truly "off." It just struck me as funny as I hauled, raked and sat in the sun getting covered with shingle dust, dirt, leaves and bugs that this is how I'm spending my first day off in a long time. (I'm not counting our trip to hubby's graduation and to Minot as true days off, they were quite stressful).

It really wasn't that bad, and Lil' Princess managed to keep things fun as she played around us. Hubby has tree-digging-out duty, which makes my cleaning- out and sorting-out job look, well, easy. We have a big landscaping job in front of us that has to get done if we're going to sell the place, and we of course have been putting it off.

Our plan is that I will take every Wednesday off, and Lil' P will go to day care two mornings a week, and hopefully that will give Hubby and I enough time to do our landscaping, do the other many fix-up jobs inside and outside the house, sort and pack, and otherwise be ready to move whenever it is that we actually get calls to serve somewhere.

I know, I know, I question the feasibility of the plan too. But you have to start somewhere, and we have.

No earth-shaking news today, no particularly wise thoughts or witty comments. Just a day off.

These are a few of my favorite things

Here's my list for the moment, what would be on your list?

1. Singing snatches of songs from musicals.
2. Coming home and hearing my daughter enthusiastically yell out "Mommy!!" and run up to hug me.
3. The way my husband's eyes twinkle when we're laughing together or when he teases me.
4. Flowers blooming.
5. Warm (not hot!) spring/summer days spent outside
6. Watching a funny movie...or a tear-jerker.
7. Dancing with my daughter.
8. Seeing that my words or presence have comforted or helped someone.
9. Chocolate and Diet Coke (don't ask me why, but you can't have one without the other!)
10. Talking on the phone with my mom (I really like talking to dad too, but there's something about talking to my mom that just makes it feel like everthing is going to be ok).
11. Walking barefoot through the grass.
12. Reading a really good book on a lazy afternoon.

Happy Ascension Day

I just got done leading the Ascension Day Devotional. Not many celebrate this event anymore, which commemorates when Jesus ascended into heaven after his resurrection. I find it to be a meaningful time every year. About 14 people showed up last year, and I had 7 tonight. Each time I find it to be an intimate, personal, and moving time.

We gathered in two pews in the sanctuary, with only a few of the lights on, which let us appreciate the setting sun shining through the stained glass windows in back. I played some meditative music on CD as we gathered, but found that we didn't need it. Everyone was so merry, glad to see each other, and happy to share about the events of the day, it was like a family coming together at the close of the day.

We read aloud the verses of Psalm 47, which are bursting with joy,
"Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy....God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet....sing praises to our King, sing praises."

I read the account of Jesus' ascension from Luke 24:44-53, and shared some thoughts about the meaning of Ascension. What I have found especially interesting and meaningful in my studies on the text this year is that Jesus' ascension took place in Bethany, which is the town where Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived. I made the connection between the words and events surrounding Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, and the purpose and meaning of Ascension, now taking place in the same town. It gave me goosebumps to read about the Lazarus story from John 11:21-27, especially verse 25-27.
"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?' She said to him, 'Yes, Lord, I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.'"

We shared a time of prayer, and then closed with the sharing of the peace. It is so wonderful to see people's faces light up when they get to share the peace! I think on some level we all yearn for such a positive and lively connection with others, and at its best, sharing of the peace shows what it means to be the body of Christ, the family of God.

Some left quickly, to enjoy the last few hours of sunlight on such a beautiful day. Some lingered for a "Scandinavian goodbye," which almost lasted as long as the devotional had!

As I locked up the doors and turned out the lights, I thought, this was so good. This was a little slice of of the Kingdom, right here. In this life, contentment can be fleeting, so I take a moment before going back home to the chaos that awaits, to jot down the joy and contentment of this night. It is a gift of God.


"Do not forget that you serve
a Mystery
that neither you nor your father's father
nor your mother's mother began.
And the laughter and the tears
that accompany your labor
are not born
of your cleverness
or your holiness,
but are reflections of the Mystery of God
in the still waters
of the eternal lake
by moonlight.
The God you serve is like an eternal lake
whose waters are always calm and clear like glass
reflecting truth to all who gaze upon them.
A million million reflections
and the lake remains the same.
It is not your job to stir the waters
but to show the way to the lakeside."

p. 4, The Art of Pastoring: Contemplative Reflections, 1994 by William V. Martin, published by CTS Press, Decatur, GA

Dinosaurs & Imagination

Our post-Easter trip to Rapid City was quick but fun. It felt good to get away for a little bit, and talk with other pastors. Lil' Princess loved the glass elevator at the hotel, and getting to see the dinosaur statues. I don't know what it is about dinosaurs, but I think almost every child goes through the dinosaur stage at some point. They capture the imagination, I guess.

So the question for this week is: what captures your imagination?
My imagination gets going when I think about moving to a new house. What will it be like? How will we make it ours? Will it have the space we need? It's nice to daydream about something new (especially when faced with the to-do list for your current home!)

Pictures from Holy Week

As you can see, Lil' Princess really enjoyed her Easter basket. She was the bright spot in a very busy day! She thought the Easter bunny did a really good job of picking presents for her.



Lil' P and I celebrate spring! She and Hubby bought the big flower for me, and she took great glee in sharing it with me.



Here is my Divine husband playing the role of Jesus in our Living Last Supper. Unfortunately, the shots of the whole group didn't turn out, but a few of these close-ups did. I think he did a great job, (even those who are not biased thought he did well).

Post-Easter Deep Breaths

Easter is such a joy, a beautiful highlight of the year, though exhausting. You work so hard to make it a wonderful day, and before you know it, it's all over. I can't believe that it's already almost two weeks since Easter weekend! Things just don't slow down in the spring. Life gets so packed full, I wonder how any of us get through. It's a good thing we have some automatic systems in our body, or some of us would forget to breathe!

In the midst of a crazy schedule and so much on the to-do list that I just want to scream, I look out the window at my office, and BREATHE.

I see bright shining sun, green grass, trees moving in the breeze, and hear birds singing. Whether or not my to-do list gets done, or whether or not I even notice what's outside my window, God and the world just keep going. New life springs up all over, the promise of spring will turn in to the lushness of summer, and none of it depends on me. Humbling and refreshing thought. I can make it better by nourishing the earth, I can make it worse by polluting and misusing the earth, but I cannot make the sun shine or the flowers to grow. It's all God. I think spring is an annual Psalm of Praise to God by the Creation. How can I keep from singing?