Reasons why you become a minister

Today was one of those reasons...I officiated a wedding today, Wed., Jan. 30, at 4 pm in the Sanctuary of First Church. Only four people were there...the bride, the groom and their 2 adult sons. The couple married in 1966 and were married for 26 years until they divorced. They stayed connected, sharing holidays and family events. They came to the decision that they wanted to remarry and share their lives together. So why today? It's the anniversary of their wedding and they didn't want to have to remember a second date! At the conclusion of today's service, they both said that today meant so much more than that original date ever meant. It reminds me of what a mentor of mine said to me....it is only when couples return, 20, 30 or 40 years after their wedding, when they have shared their joys, carried their burdens, watched their wrinkles form...it is only then that they shall know what love is.

They asked me to read a beautiful passage from the Book of Tobit, found in the Apocrypha of the Bible. I share it with you because it is such a beautiful image. (Tobit 8:5-9)

"Tobias got out of bed and said to Sarah, 'Get up, and let us pray and implore our Lord that he grant us mercy and safety.' So she got up, and they began to pray and implore that they might be kept safe. Tobias began by saying, "Blessed are you, O God of our ancestors, and blessed is your name in all generations forever. Let the heavens and the whole creation bless you forever. You made Adam, and for him you made his wife Eve as a helper and support. From the two of them the human race has sprung. You said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make a helper for him like himself.' I now am taking this kinswoman of mine, not because of
lust, but with sincerity. Grant that she and I may find mercy and that we may
grow old together." And they both said, "Amen, Amen." Then they went to sleep for the night."

UrbanChili

We tried our best today as a new group at First Church to takeover the Annual All-Church Chili Cook-Off. Adam, who is pictured in the photo directly above in the red shirt, made our chili entry from a family recipe. We didn't win the cook-off--this year. We'll be back.

Best interactive Bible map

I'm teaching a new class starting tomorrow on the book of Joshua. I found the coolest Bible maps website that uses google maps to illustrate where places were/are. www.biblemap.org

It's always challenging to overlay past places with current places and this really gives you insight into what's where.

My health insurance company

I got a call today from a dis-interested telemarketer who wanted to sign me up for a free program through my health insurance that allows me to have phone calls with a nurse every so often to evaluate my health. I told her I was not interested, and she tried to convince me why I should be interested. I told her again I was not interested, and she said, "If you verify your account I can at least explain to you why the claims department identified you for this program." What? The claims department is somehow concerned about my health??
I know how I got on their radar screen...I believe in regular chiropractic care for good spinal health. I see my doctor about once or twice a month, falling well below the $1000 yearly maximum for chiropractic treatments. I know that my insurance company would rather me not see my chiropractor on a regular basis. They would rather me talk to this nurse once a quarter so they can get insider information on my health status. But when you consider that my premium is somewhere between $7,000-8,000 A YEAR (Yes, because clergy fall in the lowest category of healthy professions and we are an aging group), I think they can swing less than a $1,000 for my healthy spine.
The Methodist Health Insurance is such a racket...not only is it super-expensive...if I added a child or spouse it would be about $6,000 each...I am also required by the Methodist Church to have the insurance AND my local church is required to pay for it. So if I chose to opt out of it because, say, my husband's policy only costs $2400/year, my local church would still have to pay for it. And let's not mention that with a $2400/year premium, that policy would have paid 100% of my maternity if it could have been my primary insurance whereas my $8,000 policy is only paying 80% of my maternity.
Okay, enough venting. I'm lucky to have health insurance. I'm lucky to have my company pay my health insurance (although my company gets ripped off). I'm lucky to be able to choose my health care provider.
But don't call me to sign me up for a free nurse program because the claims department has suddenly taken an interest in my good health.

First Pregnancy Cold

I've known this was a possibility...getting a cold while pregnant...and it happened this week. And a cold while pregnant is no fun because I can't take my beloved friend of past colds, Advil Cold & Sinus. I'm doing the things your grandmother said to do...drink orange juice, get lots of vitamin c and sleep.
If I wasn't pregnant, I would be popping those Advils and pushing through this. But when sleep is one of the 3 things you can do, it's sometimes hard to just let go and go back to bed. Americans don't like to sleep. I think we might see resting as a sign of weakness. For those who can pull all-nighters or exist on 4-5 hours a night, we secretly envy them and wonder if they are a better species. On the topic of sleep, my husband thinks it is a useless waste of time and wonders why the need for sleep hasn't been changed over the last million or so years.
I've always loved sleep...I'm an 8-9 hour-a-night girl. I think sleep exists because it is a reminder that we are dependent on someone or something else. We are most vulnerable while sleeping to forces in this world and forces outside this world. In sleep, dreams and visions can come to us even if we don't want them to. Our subconscious can nudge us to do the next right thing, even if it's not the most preferred thing. And, sometimes we just have weird dreams that make no sense. The Buddha says that reality is what happens when you sleep; waking is actually your dreams. (Think on that one...)
In the creation story, it describes the first day as this: "It was evening and then morning, the first day." A "day" starts with the evening...it begins with going to bed. What better way to acknowledge that you are not in control than to start your day by letting go of all control. And when we wake up, we join God as co-creators in a day that is half-over!
May you sleep well knowing that God our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer does not sleep or slumber. He will not let you fall.

First parenting crisis

I had my first parenting crisis today, involving the dog.  Sarah the dog has been a little uneasy lately with changes in our condo (nursery furniture moved in), workmen fixing projects that have gone on way too long, and, Troy has been traveling more with work and she is sad when he is gone.  

Here's the scenario:  I came home for lunch today, and, I was meeting the plumber to finish the project from last Friday.  While I was opening the door, Sarah went over to the table and ate my sandwich off the table.  (Something she has never done.)  So I had to handle parenting my dog in front of a complete stranger...it was a hectic few minutes.  I'm sure this is only the first of many trying to figure out how you handle discipline while juggling other things all at the same time.  

I'm sympathetic towards her...I know she knows somewhere in her dog brain that life is changing.  Eating my sandwich off the table is not the direction we are headed, though! 

Only Be Strong and Courageous

I'm beginning my new year with the story of Joshua. The book of Joshua will be the topic of the upcoming UrbanLife Sunday morning class "Crossings" that begins Jan. 13 at 9:45 am. Joshua crossed some major hurdles in his life and there is wisdom in his story for the crossings that we encounter everyday.
The story of Joshua begins at the end of the story of Moses. I've always wondered what Moses thought when God brought him to the very edge of the promised land and said, (my paraphrase), "You've done a good job Moses getting the people out of Egypt, protecting them for 40 years in the wilderness. See, this is the land that I've been promising to you and the people. However, you, Moses, can see the land but it is not yours to take the people there."

Deut. 34:4 says, "The Lord said to him, 'This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, "I will give it to your descendants"; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there."

I wonder how Moses felt to come so far but not get to reap the rewards. Would Moses have acted differently his entire life if he knew he would not get to the Promised Land? I've been thinking a lot these days about what it means to invest yourself in a vision that is larger than yourself, a vision that when it comes to fruition you won't even be here to appreciate it. One example is building generational wealth--making the kinds of sacrifices now so that grandkids and great-grandkids will have necessary resources AS WELL AS being able to be a family that makes significant gifts to charity.
Another example of this is the story that I read over Christmas--Three Cups of Tea--based on the real life story of Greg Mortenson. After failing to reach the K2 Summit on a hiking expedition, he found himself in a remove village in Pakistan making a promise to build a school for the people. That promise has turned into a lifelong effort to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan that offer girls the opportunity to learn. Mortenson believes terrorism will not end with war; it will end with education. Most likely, Mortenson will not see the end to terrorism in his lifetime, yet he keeps building schools, one-by-one. He can see the vision.
Two times in Joshua 1 this command is given, "Only be strong and courageous." I believe it takes people who are strong and courageous to carve a path in this world towards a vision that is great than them and takes more time than their lifespan to achieve. But they keep carving the path, little by little.
That's who I want to be when I grow up one day.

"Just for Today"

When my grandmother Rachel Self died in September 2006, I was reminded at her funeral of her appreciation for Dear Abby's New Year's Column entitled "Just for Today." When I read Dear Abby this morning and found the "Just for Today" essay, my heart smiled remembering my grandmother. It's funny how things like this pop into your life at just the time you need them to be there! Here it is for you:

Dear Abby's New Year's Resolutions

• 
  Just for today, I will live through this day only, and not set far-reaching goals to try to overcome all my problems at once. I know I can do something for 24 hours that would overwhelm me if I thought I had to keep it up for a lifetime.
• Just for today, I will be happy. Abraham Lincoln said, "Most folks are about as happy as they makeup their minds to be." He was right. I will not dwell on thoughts that depress me. I will chase them out of my mind and replace them with happy thoughts.
• Just for today, I will adjust myself to what is. I will face reality. I will correct those things that I can correct and accept those I cannot.
• Just for today, I will improve my mind. I will notbe a mental loafer. I will force myself to read something that requires effort, thought, and concentration.
• Just for today, I will do something positive to improve my health. If I'm a smoker, I'll make an honest effort to quit. If I'm overweight,I'll eat nothing I know to be fattening and I'll force myself to exercise ~ even if it'sonly walking around the block or using thestairs instead of the elevator.
• Just for today, I will make a conscious effort to be agreeable. I will look as good as I can, dress becomingly, speak softly, act courteously,and not interrupt when someone else is talking.
• Just for today, I'll try not to improve anybodyexcept myself. We know so much more about nutrition and how much exercise and sensible living can extend life and make it more enjoyable; so just for today, I'll take good care of my body so I can celebrate many more happy new years.
• Just for today, I will have a program. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it, thereby saving myself from two pests: hurry and indecision.
• Just for today, I will gather the courage to do what is right and take the responsibility for my own actions.