Feel Your Feet

May 31, 2007
"Feel your feet"--this is my mantra for when I'm just trying to stay present in the moment. Sometimes life is so full of good things and sometimes full of bad things and it is my work to stay connected to God and my feet on the ground through both kinds of things. I love how Eckhart Tolle describes this work in his book "The Power of Now." I love that he draws on eastern and western traditions and that he includes Scriptures which are part of my tradition that help me to connect with his message.

To me, staying connected with God--ie, worshiping God--is all about staying present in the moment, sensing God's presence and becoming fully aware that God is working in this world through me--and through you too! When I become still inside long enough regardless of how fast the world is moving on the outside, God's presence becomes more real and full and overflowing. I know that presence is there all along; I was just too busy to notice.

I think the world could use more people who feel their feet.

Remember what we do at church?

May 30, 2007

I tell a story about myself that I don't pack well and I don't move well. And right now, I'm in the middle of packing and moving. So it would be easy to say that naturally, I'm in a more un-well place of life than a well-place of life. Which means I take things easier and laugh a little more to balance it all out.

Have you ever hit a wall, though, that just feels like more than you can bear? When you hit it, what gave you the strength to get back on your feet? I hit a wall today and here's what got me back on my feet. It was 1 pm, I had been working all morning and skipped lunch. I was hungry. So I went to my favorite salad place, got my meal and sat in a corner. Out of 15 empty tables in the restaurant, a young mom with her son and daughter sat right next to my table. She arranged her food and then gave her 4-year-old a piece of bread and her 2-year-old a piece of bread and told them she was going to get their drinks. As she walked away, her little boy picked up his piece of bread, looked at his little sister, and asked, "Remember when we do this in church?" He then tore his bread that was smothered in jelly and ate it. His mom returned to her seat and she enjoyed her meal. And I simply said, "Thanks God for the reminder that you provide my daily bread."

When I hit my wall, God spoke directly from heaven, "Remember when we do this in church?" Yeah, I remember. And that's all it took to find my strength again.

Blast from the Past

While going through old files, I found my 12" single record, "We Are the World." Remember this song, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie? USA for Africa is still in existence: www.usaforafrica.org. The single hit the stores March 7, 1985....think back to 1985...where were you? I was 9 years old...good times, good times.

Long weekends are nice, but what really counts are your habits

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

After a great weekend, it was nice to get back into the groove of work, even when that groove is more of a "packing" groove like it is for me right now. I left a message with a massage therapist today and said words I never imagined would come out of my mouth: "I'm between jobs right now so my schedule is pretty flexible." Between jobs right now--that's a strange place to be in when we live in a society that defines us by our jobs.
What was nice about today is that I fell back into the habits after a long weekend of relaxing. I like my habits: getting up early, doing yoga, eating breakfast and getting started on a full-day's work. The long weekend was nice but I didn't do the things that I do every day of my life.
It made me think about other habits. What are the habits of people who follow Christ? I want to call this new ministry UrbanLIFE, as a play on words. I believe we are all called to live abundant lives of joy and peace, and, it takes habits to create these lives. What are these habits that produce deep peace in life? If you have an idea, I would love to hear it!

Things that cause you to wake up at 2 AM

"I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God made things grow.

Neither the planter nor the waterer matters; only God, who makes things grow."

(1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

Memorial Day Weekend 2007 was good to Troy and me. We had 3 days to share without one thing on our agenda. Long walks, slow meals and good movies filled our days and nights. We attended church together on Sunday at Fellowship Uptown. (Troy called it market research for my new job!) Their Memorial Day tribute was breathtaking and impressed on my heart my need to connect with those serving overseas to let them know that they are still human beings, even though they are living and working in situations where it could be all too easy to grow a cold heart. I will be praying over what God spoke to my heart in this worship service.

After a restful weekend, I was surprised when I woke up at 2 am early this morning with a mix of sadness and panic. I realized that it is Monday (granted, just barely Monday), and in seven days, I will be at Annual Conference and my time at St. Andrew is done. Feeling this goodbye made me sad. I also realized that at Annual Conference, I will say hello to First Church. Feeling this hello made me panic. At 2 am this morning, 2 things comforted me: 1. Michael Watkins, in his book, "The First 90 Days," writes that every leader has a panic moment and that this panic moment IS a fruitful experience if the leader allows it to be; and 2. God IS faithful and it IS God who makes things grow.

There is such a need to share the good news of abundant life in God and I thank God for giving me a little "panic" feeling to awaken my heart to the need for this ministry change at this time in my life. And, I'm glad that all God is asking me to do is plant the seeds and to trust. At Fellowship on Sunday, the band sang a song titled, "Hosanna," with the line, "I see a generation rising to take its place." I believe a generation is taking its place--my generation--but we can only take our place in the kingdom when we come to know that we are HEIRS of God's abundant life and we LIVE in this freedom. It's my job to believe this for myself and plant those seeds of belief for others.

As I write these statements of hope and even as I understand the importance of where I'm going, I also sense how hard it is to say goodbye to the love that has brought me to this place. It is hard to say goodbye to so many people who have developed me in ministry. So, I'm trusting what God said to Isaiah: "You will leave with joy and be led away in safety." (Isaiah 55:12)