…That I received the invitation was awe-inspiring; this is THE red-carpet moment for wayward souls like mine, and I didn't even know they had my address, much less that I would be considered worthy of a seat. WOW! What to wear?!?!?!?
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There’s a cry that won’t quite release, a sadness that pulls at my face as much as my gut… I feel deep concern that idolatry has become so common in our shared narrative, so very accepted and protected, upheld and esteemed. Oh God, have mercy.
Read More…I have a matted print of Mother Emanuel in my office that I purchased at the Charleston Market. I am inspired every time I look at it because of the deep and authentic faith the people of this church have displayed.
Read MoreI know it’s difficult to think long-range in the middle of a crisis that requires hourly updates and minute-by-minute adjustments to plans. But let’s try for just a moment.
Choose a date somewhere further than six months from now - is it Thanksgiving? Christmas? New Years Eve? Perhaps a big birthday coming up. See yourself there surrounded by your people. Imagine your conversation and activities, the food, the smells, the laughter and the tears. What are your hopes for that moment?
In the summer of 2017 our nation experienced a solar eclipse… A co-worker managed to get a few pair of the special glasses required to look at the sun as the moon covered it over - it was fascinating. The thing I remember most about that day, though, is the coming together in awe and wonder - people all over the nation - experiencing and living though a natural phenomenon that dazzled us…
And now, the COVID-19 reality has finally sunk in to our collective consciousness - forcing us to come to terms with significant disruption and serious individual responsibility. It struck me how the same sense from the eclipse, that feeling of “it’s happening to all of us” is true, although in this case, it is not good.
Two funny things happened to me recently. They aren’t related in any way to each other except for the way they make me laugh at myself. Then I realized one other connection this morning.
Read MoreMy daily reading schedule had me in the story of Jacob recently. It takes place in the book of Genesis, chapter 32. Jacob-becoming-Israel because he wrestled with God. The narrative doesn’t exactly explain why Jacob’s night of prayer became hand-to-hand combat. But it seems to be a special mercy that God bestowed upon him. The result was a changed man with a new name who forever after walked with a limp. His very character transformed into a humbler and wiser presence that day.
I tend to wrestle with ideas or situations - like pondering hope for addiction, aching to see transformed lives, our culture’s battles with racism, injustice, patriarchy, oppression of women and children, longing for community integration and impact, and observing ways that the Christian church intersects and interacts with these issues. I tend to wrestle with myself - like training my mind to think new thoughts, overcome self-doubt and break unhealthy patterns. I believe in - and practice - holding these concerns prayerfully before God even as I wrestle with them.
Read MoreToday is the first day of the second week of the new decade. How’s it been going so far? My hunch is that you are hard at it, honing and developing those well though-out new habits that you’d like to incorporate this year. A lot of us are raising the exercise ante, determined to create some kind of momentum that will carry us through the “I don’t feel like it!” doldrums. We are trying to eat healthy, live kindly, and view the coming days with optimism.
Read More… As I sat in the middle of the road behind the steering wheel, flashers on, aggravating drivers behind me, waiting on police to arrive, I breathed. I breathed and I thought to myself - “What are you feeling? How would you speak to yourself at this moment if you were someone in your congregation?”
Read MoreI recently returned from international travel - the longest flight and distance I’ve ever embarked on. The trip was amazing, a full-immersion into a new culture and behind-the-scenes engagement with long-term workers. I loved it. I said I want to go back. I believe in the beauty of travel and relationships and learning with fresh perspectives that only come from changing my routine.
Read MoreI have a specific memory of kneeling on the concrete sidewalk along Nebraska Avenue, huddled with some schoolboys around a dry leaf, or maybe it was a piece of paper, holding a magnifying glass - trying to start a little fire. I don’t remember whose dime-store magnifying glass we were experimenting with, but we were all excited to see if this was an actual possibility.
Read MoreI am not here. I was busy last week preparing for not being here, packing luggage and hoping I had EVERYTHING I need for this assignment. At some point, you have to say, “It is enough.”
How I’ve thought about enough has shifted and shaped and risen and declined. Am I enough? Do I have enough? Am I doing enough? Is God enough?
Read MoreWe have a tree. A showstopper tree. Last week a couple was using it as their backdrop in a photo shoot. This week a woman parked and got out “just to look at our tree.” It is a maple that shines and glistens and glows for a little less than two weeks every fall. It is beautiful, and I love it. And its beauty is waning - with as many of its lovely leaves on the ground as on its branches now. In one or two more days, it will be practically bare.
Read MoreThe 2019 World Series begins today! Baseball is my sport, a favorite pastime, and I’m almost always tuned in for the World Series, even when my team is not playing.
Read MoreI wrote this three months ago:
I will turn 60 years old in a few months - that is feeling a bit like an out-of-body experience. Hard to think of myself as 60, until I realize the ages of my children and grandchildren and the trove of memories we share, and realize those memories would only fit in a 60-year-old trunk.
Read MoreI confess to a temptation. This temptation is to become somewhat of a hermit, at least in regard to paying attention to current events. The constant drip of politics, celebrity goings-on, crises and people-doing-bad-things - I just get so weary of it. And the times when I’ve taken a break and disregarded the news did not seem to make a big difference in the world continuing to spin. So I am tempted to just check out permanently.
Read MoreI have the honor of serving on the launch team for Latasha Morrison’s new book, “Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation”. She has created a network of reconciliation that is growing dynamically, and I anticipate will multiply exponentially once this book debuts. Her work is deep and brave, and not possible without discomfort and challenge. The bridge cannot be built without strong foundations and hard work. I so appreciate her humble approach and deep faith.
Read MoreYou’re looking sharp today, hair and sunglasses both saying "I’m ready for you, Day, bring it on." You steer skillfully through morning traffic, having already made it to the first bus stop of the day, now getting the next kid delivered in the nick of time. Your day will fill with people and activity and all kinds of stuff that you don’t control, but you will deal with it and somehow manage to accomplish what you set out to do. You are She Who Gets It Done, and generally it is done with perfection, with pizzazz, and with the all-important properly attributed Purpose.
Read MoreOnly. Interesting word - it looks funny right now, like, did I spell that correctly? How many only’s do I have in my life? I learned a new word a couple of weeks ago - “multi-passion”. Like that’s how a lot of people are describing themselves now. Caring deeply about many things, making it difficult to devote all energies to ONE thing. Only.
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