Swimming

So many deadlines at work and school make my head swim! Thank God I love both! I know I can't keep this pace up forever. Jung said that the devil doesn't cause busyness, the devil is busyness. Projects are getting accomplished one by one and I can feel the load lightening.

Love is a powerful thing

Last Sunday, my family visited my niece and her newborn son. We were content to just gaze on him with love while he was sleeping. Later that night I was struck by the thought of God looking down on us all with that kind of devotion. Powerful stuff.

Is this news good or bad?

Our youth leadership team recently attended a regional youth retreat. On the long drive home we had a long conversation about the deficit thinking in everything that was said from the stage. We decided to call the technique "Presenting the Good News in the Worst Possible Way."

I used to run a school-age child care program. One of the first things I taught new staff members was to redirect a student by telling them what to do, not what not to do. (In other words, say "walk" to a student running down the hall instead of "don't run!")

We all need to be warned about the consequences of sin, but isn't it at least as equally important to be taught essentials for Christian growth?

Savior, teacher, friend and... oh yeah, lord!

I'm really seeing a need to grow in the reality of Jesus Christ as my Lord. I can belt out a good "Lord I Lift Your Name on High" with the best of 'em, but in moments of clarity it's apparent that I don't want to be beholden to anyone.

I grew up in a generation where even the president had to resign his job and the nation was licking its fresh wounds over a mismanaged war. The concept that everyone is flawed wasn't a startling revelation to my classmates and I, it was just the way we always saw the world. Why follow someone when they are just as confused as everyone else?

Another characteristic of my generation is that we can get what we want without answering to anyone... If I want a cheeseburger at 3 am, I can drive over to McDonald's and get one. I can pause live TV on my DVR. I can even get custom imprinted M&Ms with I-F printed on them!

Savior, teacher and friend are great, but Lord infringes on my self-obsession!

Buechner

My favorite thing about reading is the moment when I come across that One Perfect Line, full of meaning and written so beautifully that I have to read it over again solely for the sheer enjoyment of language. Frederick Buechner has the gift of writing those kinds of lines over and over again throughout a whole book.

My favorite books are The Book of Bebb, Godric, and Wishful Thinking. I like the way that he merges the sacred into everyday life. It just feels very "real" to me, which I reckon is the aim of literature.

Frederick Buechner is not the most well-known author, but a person would do well to add his name to a list of "must-reads."

Green bean cassarole and other recipies...

I've just finished reading a little biography called "Tender at the bone". It's basically a memoir about growing up and cooking along the way. I had become rather attached to Rachel and the stories her recipies would bring to the surface. It got me thinking about what recipies might correspond to my life's experince? Green bean cassrole, lentil soup, hummus and pita, greek salad, stuffed grape leaves - I can distinctly recall moments in time that would correspond with recipies. 2003 - that was the year of turkey subs( on the go), 2004 - greek salad ( comfort food), 2005 - mandrin oranges with vanilla yogert ( trying to be healthy) - 2006 - over easy eggs, 2 slices of maple toast w/ strawberry jelly and coffee wih cream and sugar ( something to stick with me wherever I go).

Towards the end of the book Rachael has to learn to deal with some life-long challenges. She has a choice: to become paralyed by her quandy, to ignore it, or to dive into it headlong and hearty.

Just like recipies can challenge the best cook, so can life and the possibilities that are presented. If you cook with fear in your heart, the entree is going to be a mess. If you cook through the anxiety and fear - you can create a masterpiece.
Yes, over easy eggs, toast and coffee can be a great meal, just as long as you aren't afraid to crack the eggs, burn the toast and make bad coffee.

The potential for failure is there - but if you don't give it a shot you'll never know how fantasitc a common breakfast can be. Get into the kitchen and start cooking - there are many adventures ahead!
Cheers.

Glass Ceiling

My learning cohort was asked what we hoped to gain out of the next two years. My expectation is that I will graduate from this program better equipped to help people grow spiritually. (I don't expect to do this in a professional capacity, but rather as an active lay person.) I want to know and be able to articulate the history of spiritual formation and the contemplative traditions of the church. I want to learn the "nuts and bolts" of how we relate to God and soul care. I'm looking forward to the academics, but I hope that the cohort will also learn about spiritual growth through the experience of "life together" over these next two years.

My classmate Bruce made a statement that really got me thinking: "While I know that I can't make another grow, I know, as a pastor, I could possibly be a ceiling to other's growth."

I live in a different community from where I work and worship. Many of my coworkers commute in, too, from 20 - 60 miles. We cross state lines (NY to PA). We also move a little deeper into Appalachia, which is just of much a state of mind as geography.

We're often frustrated by our lack of ability to interest youth in pursuing higher education. (In this itty bitty county only about 4% of the population does any college after high school.) For a youth who's parent has only ever worked at a fast food restaurant, contributing to the family survival via a minimum wage job appears to be a lot more responsible than incurring thousands of debt for "just a piece of paper." Most of the adults in their life don't portray college ambitions as realistic.

We learn about reality by observing the world around us. So why would a person aspire to a life they don't know exists?

This is where Bruce's comment really got to me... Am I intentional about promoting spiritual growth in my church? Do I model the disciplined life to the people around me? Am I being authentic about the realities of new life or am I putting on a show that just leads people to frustration?

My prayer is the God would continually enlarge my vision of the spiritual life. I want the kind of life that would cause people to gain some high expectations in God!

One Course Down, Eight To Go!

I finished my program orienation last week. I missed the daily discussion on the message boards, but I was grateful to have a week to work ahead in the reading. That's key for me to maintain the workload in this program. I'm thankful that I can read very quickly and still maintain a good comprehension of the material. It was also nice to get to bed before midnight for the first time in a few weeks, too!

Program Orientation pointed out to me what a sloppy communicator I am sometimes. Snarky little comments dashed off in an instant really don't prove a point or make an argument. I was more aware of my spelling and grammar. In at least one case I wanted to back up a statement with a statistic, but I passed because I couldn't find the source... On an anonymous message board would I have been that conscientious or would I have just hoped I recalled the stat correctly to prove my point?

I spent a lot more time looking over a posting before hitting the send button. It's important in the learning environment and I hope it spills over into my personal online interactions as well.

Communication is a two-way street, I think the best way to improve my online communication skills is to really pay attention to how people respond to my postings. Are people often asking for clarification? Do their comments reflect the point I was trying to get across?

The online learning experiences I've had prior to NNU were all of a short duration of a few days. The trainings always felt like a solitary experience because the participants never had time to get to know each other. I think what has surprised the most over these last two weeks is how my learning cohort really feels like a group to me, rather than a bunch of anonymous postings.

One area that the online experience does fall short of the traditional classroom is that I don't get to hear my professors pronounce all those three syllable terms. I'm working on a million dollar idea: a Fisher-Price special edition See 'n Say for online theology students. Just point the arrow on your favorite theologian and pull the string...

"John Wesley say QUAD-ri-LAT-er-al!"