Robbers

Basil of Caesarea, a fourth-century bishop and monk, asked, “Are you not a robber, you who consider your own that which has been given you solely to distribute to others? This bread which you have set aside is the bread of the hungry; this garment you have locked away is the clothing of the naked; those shoes which you let rot are the shoes of him who is barefoot; those riches you have hoarded are the riches of the poor.”

From today's devotion in Common Prayer: A Liturgy of Ordinary Radicals, available as a book or online daily.

Where I Worship

Our church, Grace Community Church, has 3 service styles that run simultaneously. The primary service, GraceMain, is "big church" where most everyone at church worships. Josh runs lighting for a more contemplative service called Sanctuary, and we worship together in a smaller, more interactive service called Sojourn. Three or four weeks after Elliott was born, we ventured back to church, and I was interviewed about Sojourn for this video. I was running on very little sleep, and wasn't sure I had made any sense at all.

Worship Venues at Grace from GCC on Vimeo.

Be the Church

From weekendofservice10

Last weekend, my church closed its doors. There were no worship services scheduled, no Sunday school, no fellowship hour. For a suburban megachurch that is usually bustling Saturday night and Sunday morning, this was a big change from the normal weekend schedule. So what did the church members do, with no church service to go to? For 3800 of us, rather than going to church this weekend, we went out to be the church.

The third annual Weekend of Service was last weekend. In past years, I've helped demolish a house and clean up electronics. This year Josh and I split up, since we acknowledge we have different skills and abilities we can use to serve, so it makes sense for us to be on projects that are a good fit for us. Josh worked at a local bike shop repairing bikes for an organization called Bikes4Kids, replacing seats and tires on bikes to be given to local elementary students who can't afford one. Other projects collected food, fixed cars, sorted kids', women's and men's clothing, handed out coats, cleaned up neighborhoods,  served dinners, painted, sided, roofed, landscaped, and a host of other things.

I had a unique project. My friend Barry runs an online social justice photojournalism magazine called World Next Door, where he writes full-time about the lives on the poor and marginalized around the world.- Seriously. Around the world. Although I saw him just a few days ago, he's in India as I write this. His goal is to make fellow suburban Christians aware of issues facing these people who God loves, and give them ways to get involved or pray.

For Grace's Weekend of Service, Barry gathered a team to go out to work sites where some of the weekend's volunteers would be serving. We "embedded" in the projects as correspondents, interviewed volunteers and those involved in the ministry, took some photos, and came back to write about what we saw, felt and learned. The goal was to report back two things- What is life like here? and What is God doing here?

I'm not sure if I succeeded, but I got my story- or rather, the story of a mother and a couple other volunteers- down and sent it off. It's posted today on the site, so I'll send you over there to check it out. Feel free to leave a comment over at World Next Door, or check out some of Barry's adventures in Haiti, Kenya, India, and the Ukraine- all much more exotic than my jaunt into Indianapolis!

Wanna see what else happened this weekend?
Pictures on the church's Facebook page
My pictures from Shepherd Community Center
World Next Door's Weekend of Service stories (more to be posted later this week!)

Grace & Haiti in the news

Our church was on the local news talking about the teams we've sent down to Haiti. The trips so far have been medically focused, where they've done everything from handing out prenatal vitamins to rushing children to surgery. I'm thankful we have so many skilled professionals that are willing to share their medical expertise! More trips are planned- two in July and one in November. It's exciting to see people I worship with get to share their stories with a larger audience. We can't forget Haiti!

Passover lessons

Passover began Monday night. For the first time this year, I celebrated the first night of Passover with a seder supper with friends. Among our bible study, I was the most familiar with the Jewish traditions, so the responsibility fell on me to get the order of service for the evening put together. I wasn't exactly sure what all that entailed, but I spent Sunday afternoon figuring it out (for a Monday meal. Yes, I procrastinate sometimes) The biggest takeaway for me was about food, go figure. I'm posting it on this blog instead of my food blog because it's more 'reflection' and less 'recipe'.

The idea of "leaven" (yeast) being like sin is all over the Old and New testaments. I had heard the parables and analogies, but I never really "got it". I mean, I understand how yeast works- little microorganisms that make bread rise- but never understood how that was like "sin". Something in the haggadah made it click.

Nowadays, we buy yeast in little packets, or in jars- dried yeast flakes that "come alive" when added to warm water. Once upon a time, there was no yeast packets. All bread was the sourdough variety- where, to keep the yeast alive, a bit of the old dough (the sponge) is added to the new dough, to transfer the yeast. The yeast from the old dough grows into the new dough, making the new loaf rise.

This passing-down from the old dough to the new dough, and the new dough being "contaminated" with the same strain of yeast that every sourdough bread preceding it had- this is like the sin nature being passed down generation to generation. To be human is to have a sin nature. To be "bread" is to have this yeast. The yeast works through the whole dough, and is consumed by it.

For Passover, observant Jews rid their house of all bread and grain, chametz. This isn't just simply eating through that last loaf before Passover rolls around, this is wholly and completely ridding the house of everything with grain in it- the frozen pizza in the freezer, the crumbs under the counter, and, for some, even the sodas that contain corn syrup, a derivative of corn, a grain. (This year, Josh and I actually picked up some kosher-for-Passover Coke at Costco sweetened with sugar, and it is good!)  All that to say, they are serious about getting leaven out of their homes. It is consumed, thrown away, burned, and sold, and, for a week, they live without leaven.

Reading about the extremes and rules followed to get leaven out of these homes, it made me think- why don't I go after sin in my life with such ferocity? Why don't I sweep under the counters of my life and find every crumb and cupcake and frozen breaded chicken nugget and get it out? It's terribly inconvenient, and even painful, to do a search like that. Bread is much more convenient than matzah. And yet. God is that serious about sin. Every little crumb matters.

Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth. - 1 Cor 5:6-8

And Jesus? He was without leaven - sin- and he was striped and pierced, just like pieces of matzo. This set-apart food reminds me of who I should be, and who my Savior is.

Repost: The Breastplate of St Patrick

I posted this prayer 3 years ago for St Patrick's Day, and wanted to share it again- to remind myself that the holiday can mean more than green beer and corned beef.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

Awaking a Sleeping Giant

The American church is a sleeping giant.

So many in America claim to be Christians. Relative to so many countries, we have so much wealth. We have the opportunity and ability to make a gigantic impact.
And yet.
We sleep.
We do nothing.

We have allowed atrocities to take place around the world, and neglect to go on under our nose. What can rouse this giant?

Yesterday, I observed the giant stir.

At 8pm Tuesday night, a local foster-care ministry got a call saying in the next day or two, a plane with 300 Haitian orphans would be headed to Indianapolis. Could they quickly find foster families?

Around 11:30pm, an email went out to my church of more than 6,000 people. "Could any families take in two or more non-English-speaking kids for a month or more, potentially to adopt?"

Half an hour later, they had found homes for 92 children. I sent off a tweet to a blogging friend who I knew was an adoption advocate, and she knew the right people to contact. Twitter lit up. By 10am Wednesday, Safe Families was receiving eight emails a minute about wanting to host children or help in some way. Throughout the day, because of the overwhelming response, they required that applicants have a current background check and home study and agree to take in two children and be a potentially-adoptive home- and even with that requirement, at 1pm they cut off applications, saying they had plenty.

Wow.

God's people stepped up. Hundreds of families in less than 24 hours were willing to radically alter and rearrange their lives in a permanent way to make space for "the least of these". Wow.

Reports are that the airplane headed to Indianapolis isn't as looming as was reported, and fewer children may eventually be on it, when and if it is put together. That fact is disappointing for many families, but misses the larger picture: Thousands of people in our little area were ready to deploy for the Kingdom. The church stirred, and was ready to make a difference in a big way.

Where to go from here? The hundreds of emails demonstrated to me that there are hundreds or thousands of empty beds and bedrooms in Hamilton County and the Indianapolis area, and thousands of families who love children. As a local adoption agency tweeted in the midst of the day yesterday, the orphan crisis isn't just today, it's every day. There are parentless children that could fill all those beds and hearts, not just from Haiti, but from China, Ethopia, Ukraine, and our own neighborhoods.

Hopefully, this event sparked some good conversations in families in the area, and fostering and adoption will become priorities. Or the plight of Haiti won't be forgotten, because yesterday it became personal and, very literally, close to home. Or the "least of these" living next door or a few miles away will be served with the same life-altering willingness.

Let's hope the giant doesn't drift off again.

Christian Tourism

As far as "religious tourism" goes, I could list the obvious sights to see- all in the Middle East. Perhaps even cathedrals and Reformation-related sites in Europe should be added to the list. In the US, I had heard of the new Creation Museum near Cincinatti, but didn't know the Christian tourism industry had contrived other must-see places to visit. I passed a few ads for these attractions this weekend, but, sadly, didn't get a chance to stop at any of them.

When I think of things that belong in museums, I think "dead", "past", or "extinct" rather than "living and active," so the Bible Museum was hard for me to understand. Also, the fact that it's stuck in a random strip mall was a little bizarre.


Also, I think of museums having a place aspect to them- Abraham Lincoln museums, for example, appear in Illinois, where he lived, and Kentucky, where he was born, but not, say Idaho [Apparently "More than any other state, Idaho is related to Abraham Lincoln." Bad random choice on my part. Thanks, Twitter.], which wasn't even a state when he was alive. So, a Christ Museum in Tennessee? Seems a little out of place. Also- Christ is alive, see above.


This next one just made me wonder 1) Who says "Jesus talk"? 2) I wonder how many takers they have to come share a song on their TV station? 3) Unnecessary quotation marks are a pet peeve.


This last one was a Big Deal, and had a huge building next to the big Black Bear Jamboree show. Jesus looks so clean cut and ... white. Also, they have camel rides. Show tickets are only $38.17 each!


As for us, we went to see God's real attraction in the area... the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I'll take God's creation over a dusty museum any day.

Welcoming Jesus

A video made by someone at my church: The Nativity through Art History

The Nativity throughout art history from Tim Mauriello on Vimeo.

Jesus in the garage.

This installation was in our worship space last year... a garage, with a note. Can you read the note?

Joe & Mary,
Sorry we missed you! With all of Liz's family here for Christmas, we have NO ROOM in the house. MY kids are sharing a room with Liz's brother and his two kids/ Mom & Dad are in our room and we are in the Computer Room. Glenn, Samone, and their kids are in the Living Room. BUT there is a COUCH in the garage.
God Bless,
Chris

If you look closely, you'll see a baby, swaddled in a blanket, lying in the dog cage.

Jesus will come even when all we have to offer him is a feeding trough on hay, or a dog cage on garage flooring, or a frantic prayer in a messed-up life. This Christmas season, I'm reflecting on how quietly and unassumingly God broke into our world- and how much He changed it.

Links and questions

• From my pastor, @DDRod, "Build your own Teddy Bear theology" at the Washington Post
• There are times I wish I had the flexibility to just pick up and move, simplify my life, and take an adventure. If I did, I might go live here. And then, on this blustery, freezing cold day, I second-guess the idea of living in Minneapolis. Any intentional communities in places where it doesn't snow?
• Amazon has a whole slew of games under $10 for sale right now, and we all know I love games! Some of these are classics.
• The Internet is so much a part of our daily lives, I forget what a massive tool it is. Check out the graphic at Lifehacker.
• More on the new appliances later... but we sold our old stove to a lady who went to put it into a manufactured home she's moving into, and now she says it doesn't work. It was fine a week ago when we took it out of our house- anyone know if the cold can damage an electric stove? It was in our garage for less than a week.
• What's the latest I can send out Christmas cards, do you think? I'm thinking of making some to send, but I don't know if I have enough time.

What I've been up to: Consuming Fire '09

Once upon a time, I reviewed a book on this blog, and posted the link to the post on Twitter. A Twitter user @ErBks retweeted the link, and I discovered the Indianapolis church Englewood Christian Church and their conference Through the Consuming Fire. My friend Sara wanted to go to the conference as well, so we decided to give it a try!

Friday night, Josh and another friend joined Sara and I for dinner at Chipotle then off to hear author and speaker Shane Claiborne speak to a sanctuary full of listeners. Some highlights from the talk that I twittered via my Peek, because the conference wasn't particularly laptop-friendly (unlike my last conference):

"Maybe God's dream doesn't look like Wall Street's dream. Maybe God has something different in mind"

"If clutching money gives it power, letting it go, giving it away takes away its power"

"We have no right to have more than we need when others have nothing"

"We live simply because the gifts of God are so good, we want everyone to be able to experience them"

Shane is inspiring because he lives out what he preaches. He insists that we must live simply and share what we have, because God cares for the poor as much as the rich, and that money and possessions offer false hope. In response, he has radically altered his life and challenges us to do the same. Last November, I posted a prayer of his, and  I read his book The Irresistible Revolution and was impressed with his story and his heart- but hearing someone speak seems to bring who they say they are and what they write together in a more tangible way. Anyway, the night of learning and worship was great.

Saturday, there were too many workshops to choose from - I wish I could have sat in all of them! I only was able to visit three, and each was very different from the others, all equally fascinating.

The first was put on by Will Samson and Scott Hutcheson about local food systems. Will talked about the motivation for eating locally and Scott gave a more academic presentation about how to set up community food networks so that food producers, merchants, and consumers can be connected. After the presentation, I  felt motivated to somehow get involved in this food network- right now, I grow enough for myself, but is there a way I could expand and bring others into the local-food movement?

The second session I visited was small, titled "The Business of Debt." The topic of the session was the predatory lending practices aimed at low income and minority populations, but not too much new information was shared. The lady who led the session was fascinating- a lawyer who works for an organization in Washington DC that advocates for fair lending practices. She talked about some solutions to the problem- all community driven. The "local" and "grassroots" aspect of financial products isn't something I ever considered, and I had plenty to think about afterwards.

For the third session, I was headed to a workshop about the CSA and garden that the church we were meeting  runs. I poked my head into what I thought was the correct room, and started talking to those people sitting around the table. A couple minutes into the session, I realized I had totally walked into a different workshop than the one I meant to, and there was no way out.

The session was about Christian Peacemaker Teams. In a short time, I discovered we were in the presence of a globetrotter- an international activist for peace. Hearing story after story of radical peacemaking in dangerous war zones made me question the "necessary evil" of conflict and war in the world. Hearing about this group's work astounded  me. These are brave, committed men and women, and I hope to keep up on the organization in the future. I am glad I "accidentally" wandered in!

After the discussion in this workshop was finished, the group I meant to be a part of- the gardening workshop- walked through our classroom to the roof entry on the other side of the room, for a tour of the beehives on the roof. How cool is that?!

In the end, I left the conference astounded by the sheer number of people working for peace and justice in Indianapolis in the name of Jesus. I met so many amazing people, and, in comparison, felt very small. These people are standing between loan sharks and the poor, feeding homeless youth, making their own clothes, raising chickens in their backyard, living in ghettos, working to combat AIDS and all sorts of creative protests against consumerism- and what am I doing? I'm planning on getting a flat screen TV on Black Friday for my suburban house.

I left with lots to think about.

See all the pictures from the event (mostly of bees...)

Consuming Fire conference

In Defense of Martha

I "get" Martha.

That's what I admitted to during two of the four services at my church this weekend, in front of hundreds of people. Let me tell you, it's not easy being asked about your struggles with spiritual disciplines and focus on God in front of your faith community. Because I don't have it figured out- not even close.

So back to Martha.

The pastor asked- "So, you sit down, you're ready to start a quiet time with God, you've got your bible, your pen and journal and... Nothing. What is it that would make you experience this?" For me, the answer was easy. I can totally picture myself in that situation... I'm sitting in my living room, Bible on my lap, ready to start reading- when I look around the room. From where I sit, I can see the dishes that need to be done, the floors that need to be cleaned, the dog that's whining at me to play or let him out. I have a visual to-do list around the room, and what am I doing? Sitting still rather than getting up and it all done. Later, my pastor asked, "Like Martha?" I said, "Oh, I totally get Martha." Want to hear the exchange? Josh recorded it for us, and it'll be up on the church website, at the beginning of the podcast for 9/20.

So how can I defend Martha? She's the "bad guy" in the Mary and Martha story, right? The one chastised by Jesus? Well, I'm not sure. Disclaimer: I read into these stories possibly more than I ought. I hate it when people do that. Call me out on it if my assumptions are way-out-there.

Like Martha, I have one younger sister (Nowhere does it say that Martha's older than Mary, but the passage does say they went to Martha's house. Also, Martha acts like an oldest child). I'm task-oriented and fact-oriented and practical to a fault. I love extending hospitality, but when large groups come over, I'm running around trying to multitask and make sure everyone will be comfortable and fed. I'm an introvert, so I show my appreciation for friends and guests by serving them, and less so by visiting (unless there's no one else to entertain them).

All that to say, I understand what Martha's trying to do. I understand why she's "distracted by all the preparations that had to be made". Jesus + 12 disciples + 2 sisters + (probably?) Lazarus, their brother + who knows what other friends or followers = a 16+ person dinner party. Single-handedly, that's a hard event to pull off. So, I also totally understand why Martha asked her sister, who was just sitting around visiting with the guests, to be an extra pair of hands in the kitchen, you know, so they could eat at some point. Always practical. Trying to serve her guests. I get that. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've done the same thing to Josh, while he's sitting still and I'm trying desperately to clean the house and tend whatever's on the stove and in the oven before 13 people show up to our house. I've been there.

My entire picture of Martha is not shaped by this one dinner party story or a second dinner party, where Martha serves (again), and Mary does an outlandish thing and douses Jesus with perfume, in an emotional act of love and gratefulness. She and Mary show up elsewhere, and from the other story, I gained a better understanding of their personalities- and the way God deals with each of us as individuals, reaching us just at our point of need.

Mary and Martha's brother Lazarus dies four days prior, and Jesus was just now getting to Bethany, even though he could have made it to their town before Lazarus died. Both sisters were mourning, but in their own way. Martha hears Jesus is close and goes out to meet him- possibly because she wants to talk to him, as an introvert, one-on-one, and she's overwhelmed by all the people because "many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother"? I know that's how I would feel.

Martha meets Jesus and says "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." She knows he's "Lord." Always-practical Martha had hoped her friend who does miracles would have known to come, to save her brother at the last minute. She has faith- and knows intellectually all is not lost, even though her heart is mourning.

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." - rather than offering nice words, he gives her facts. This may seem odd, but again, I get this. In my biggest struggles with faith, when I come back to basics, the truths I know I can lean on, my faith is strengthened, and I'm able to put some questions to rest, or find answers in the bedrock of my faith. Martha answers with agreement, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Intellectually, she knows this truth. It's probably gotten her through these last few days- knowing she'll be reunited with her brother again in the future.

Again, Jesus asks her to acknowledge her faith, giving her another fact:

Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?'

"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

Again, she acknowledges the spiritual truth. Jesus knew this is what she needed- an affirmation that God is still in control. She knew this intellectually, but being reminded of it, as seemingly random as it is, is a comfort when the world around her is falling apart. She is fact-oriented and knows this is something she can lean on. The Messiah is here. Everything will be OK. (In both of these "facts," Jesus is alluding to the miracle he's about to do, bringing Lazarus back from the dead, but there's no reason Martha should have picked up on that, and, to be fair, Martha acknowledges a miracle as a possibility in the first thing she says)

So, does Jesus repeat this scene with Mary? Not even close. Martha goes back to the house, and tells Mary Jesus is on his way and asking for her. Mary- who, I'm guessing is more social and emotional based on the previous stories, was followed by the mourners who were in the house with her. She headed to find Jesus, and, when meeting him, said the same thing Martha did. "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her and the others weeping, he cried along with them. Mary did not need what Martha needed- Martha needed a reminder of truth to strengthen her faith as she mourned on her own. Mary needed people to cry with her as her emotions all spilled out. Jesus knew just how to comfort each sister, as different as they are.

I get Martha. Totally and completely. Is she the "bad guy"? I hope not, because I see so much of her in me. Jesus is never harsh with her, but gentle, and meets her where she's at. I'm glad he treats me the same way.

Not a Joking Matter

This "book" was donated to the library a while back. I just now got these pictures uploaded.



I say "book" because it's really more of a 8.5x11-sized tract. With a cover like that, full of big, threatening letters and Having Every Single Word Capitalized, it may just make you throw up your hands and say:



Authentic! Startling! Astounding!

UPDATE: Click on the photo of the man to go to Picasa. Click the magnifying glass to get bluray-like detail to zoom in on the picture. Read the bottom banner.
"EVERY HOME SHOULD HAVE THIS BOOK!"
Be advised.

I've been in church my whole life, and heard lots of theologies about Hell, but I did learn something from this booklet. Here it is:



I had no idea Hell was housed in the spherical, molten core of our planet, but it all makes sense now. "Does the center of the Earth have a bottom? NO!"

With the donations to the church library, we first decide whether to include them in our collection, then decide whether they're appropriate to donate to the prison ministry or another ministry that takes them. If none of those are good matches, we put the books in a FREE pile in our library for passer-bys to pick up. This booklet, I couldn't bear to send to any of those places, but it was too compelling (hilarious) to just throw away.

I would consider passing it on to another good home if someone would like to read more of the 28 pages of illustrated, full-color instructions on avoiding hell and why you might want to do so.

* I could have dealt with the more serious issue of evangelistic scare tactics, the effectiveness of tracts, and other theologies of Hell, but this booklet really speaks for itself- and I think anyone would have a hard time taking it seriously, so the above issues are moot.

Lessons in the weeds

I've not posted any garden pictures this year. In fact, I haven't even taken any.

Last year, and the year before in the apartment, I was so excited at each new development- each bud and sprout. This year, I don't even notice each bud and sprout- it's all I can do to keep the weeds from being taller than any of the sprouts! Have I been successful? Um, not really.

A couple weeks ago, I was getting really frustrated with it all. All these weeds, all this work, and nothing to show for it. All that I had harvested had popped up on its own- herbs, raspberries, some flowers, and not much else. Is this going to be worth it? Was I just lucky last year? Am I a huge gardening failure?

Right before church Saturday, a friend started asking me about my garden. I had harvested some peas last week, and a couple heads of broccoli. She commented all her plants seemed small and late. I told her my tomatoes were about "this high" bending down, putting my hand about mid-shin height. She laughed and said that's where hers were too, and now she didn't feel as bad. The conversation made me feel better, too.

During church, I kept thinking about it. The weed problem I'm blaming on myself- after last year's garlic was harvested, I didn't have a plan for that space, and weeds grew up quickly, causing there to be lots of weed seeds in the garden soil this year. I did my best to get crop seeds started on time, but I was late with many of them. And then the lesson in all this hit me:

I don't make things grow.


God makes things grow. 


Nothing in my power can make it rain (or, in the case of this spring, stop raining) or make the sun shine, or make the bugs come or go, or make the weeds come or go.


I can do my best to keep the beds clear, to plants seeds in their season, to plan and diagram the garden, but in the end, I have no power to make things grow.

These revelations are significant to me. Just like Jonah, who loved the vine that grew up and gave him shade, then cursed God when it went away, God made the point to me: You did nothing to make these things grow. I give and take away. What is it to you?


I'm also reminded of Jesus' parable of the wheat and weeds- the wheat and weeds must grow together, for when the weeds are pulled up, the good wheat may be, too. There are beds in my garden that are like this- dense grass is growing among the carrots, and pulling up the grass would pull up the crop, too- and, with carrots, the roots are obviously very important.

I am reminded of the weeds in my life- the hurts or sin that cannot be extracted without pulling out other parts of who I am. I know that the weeds in my life may stem from seeds embedded from another season of life. I know that I can try to keep weeds under control under my own power, and try my hardest to grow- but only God can redeem me, and only God can grow me. I am powerless on my own.

Rain is a blessing and a curse- it provides a resource to make both the good and bad things in the garden grow. In an untended or neglected garden, the bad stuff grows up quickly under much rain, and the good stuff gets choked out. In a well tended garden (which is very hard to do with lots of rain!), the good stuff flourishes.

Isn't it that way with people, too? When a person is given lots of resources, it can be either a blessing or a curse. Untended, the bad stuff in their life can grow up under the "blessing" of riches, while, when carefully managed, the extra resources can help a person flourish- but this is harder to accomplish!

And then, the harvest. I've been disappointed in the harvest so far, but looking back at the pictures of last year's garden, I'm reminded that the harvest season will come- soon!- we're just not there yet. I will get to see  and taste the fruits of my labor- in season- even though right now all it feels like is labor.

The work will pay off. The miracle of dirt-and-sunshine-and-water-into-food will come about. And all the credit will be God's, because I certainly haven't done anything miraculous.

Book Review: Enough by Will Samson

To start, let's just say this book wasn't at all what I expected.

I had expected Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess by Will Samson to be a long rant about how much plastic we consume, the Barbies and shopping malls that brainwash us into buying, buying, buying, and the awfulness of capitalism. Instead, in this fairly-quick read (just 160 pages) was a very thoughtful look not at WHAT we're consuming, but what it is doing to us- to our bodies, environment, economy, and community. The book is also very timely (as in, go read it NOW), talking about the recession that we are now in and some of the causes.

That said, this isn't a rant, or a scolding. Samson is writing to Christians specifically- he says so in the introduction. He expands on ways the consumer culture is ruining our churches and our spiritual lives, and suggests the alternative of Eucharistic community. At the end of the last few chapters, there are really, really practical suggestions that help combat consumerism in our lives. I appreciated the ideas like "Spend locally" "Eat together" and "Get out of your car". Stuff I can do, and stuff I can be aware of in my day-to-day, not just nice theories that I may or may not apply. Enough reminds me that I don't need to consume, hoard, or buy out of fear. If I trust God I have enough and that he will provide, I can opt out of the crazy rat race the rest of the culture is running. And I'm all for that.

Here's a few excerpts I appreciated:

"There is a saying in philosophy: Every ought implies a can. In other words, it is assumed that everything we should or ought to do is also something that we have the ability to do. But in America we seem to have turned that equation on its head: Every can implies an ought."

"If you want to understand that there is no ready access in this world, plant a garden. ... I also think of planting a garden as a simple step in the revolution to transform life from the erotic to the aesthetic. There is nothing sexual about my tomatoes. But there is something good about them. ... When cared for, they stand as a monument to the beauty of creation, with red and green and yellow, the burst to tell a story of hope for the future."

"Too many of us who were raised as "Bible-believing Christians" have often approached Scripture to affirm the things we wish to be against, and to provide permission for things we wish to do, like spending frivolously without concern for the future. But we do not have that freedom."

I'll definitely be including this one in the church library- if you're in the area, come pick it up! If you're not, read this excerpt.

My Favorite Christmas Song

While most Christmas hymns/carols/songs are either slow and contemplative or totally secular, I've always loved this one. I mean, I love the contemplative moments of the Christmas season, but this one, when it's played with energy, makes me feel like I'm actually celebrating something- and that's the point of Christmas, isn't it? To celebrate the incarnation- the coming-into-flesh - of God? To shout from the rooftops, or mountaintops, or sky, as the angels did, of the miracle and great grace that was bestowed on the earth when the God Of The Universe came down and moved into the neighborhood?

Go Tell It On The Mountain
Refrain:
Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.

While shepherds kept their watching
Over silent flocks by night
Behold throughout the heavens
There shone a holy light.

Refrain

The shepherds feared and trembled,
When lo! above the earth,
Rang out the angels chorus
That hailed the Savior’s birth.

Refrain

Down in a lowly manger
The humble Christ was born
And God sent us salvation
That blessèd Christmas morn.

Refrain

Sadly enough, the only time I've heard this song this season has been when I've been singing it. I didn't know it was particularly obscure- but it's not on the radio loop, and hasn't been part of the carols at church. I'm bummed, but no less celebratory.

Ministry highlight: Food Rescue

Below is a guest post from Mary, my sister's mother-in-law (or, as they like to say, "mother-in-love"!). Mary is a talented, big-hearted woman who is kept busy raising 4 kids, scrapbooking, and working in the local high school's performing arts department. She's involved at our church, and recently her family has been helping with a ministry called Food Rescue, going to local restaurants and taking leftover food to local food pantries. Here's her story.

Our family volunteers for Food Rescue, a national program seeking to rescue good food that would otherwise be thrown in the trash, and giving it to shelters and needy organizations.  This is the food left over at restaurants at the end of the day, there’s nothing at all wrong with it, it’s just that it was excess.  They throw this food away, people. There are homeless everywhere, yet millions of dollars of food is thrown away.  Bugs the living daylights out of me.

We go to Paradise Cafe and pick up one Monday a month.  Last week we picked up 6 bags of their incredibly good cookies that would have been thrown in the trash, and delivered them to Third Phase, a women’s shelter and food pantry.

Here’s a recent letter from John, who is the Indiana chapter president.  They could use some donations, if you feel so called to this ministry.

Hello Friends,

 In the past year, Food Rescue, through our website FoodRescue.net as scheduled 750 “food rescues” around the country.  We have over 1200 volunteers and 40 Chapter Presidents around the country serving once a month for 90 minutes to care for people in need in their community.

The IRS just awarded Food Rescue 501c3 status last week.   The retail value of the food that we have scheduled to save from the dumpster is nearly 3 million dollars annually since November of 2007.

These totals reflect the efforts of over 1200 volunteers doing a very small thing to make a very big impact.  Our hope is that the work of Food Rescue can be financially supported in the same way.  We are trying to have all 750 Food Rescues sponsored at $10 per month.  There are currently over 100 times slots sponsored, and can be seen here:  foodrescue.net/volunteers/schedule.  Click on Indianapolis Schedule for an example.

If the outrage of 27% of food being wasted in our country in this or any economy is strong enough in your heart, could I ask you this Christmas to consider giving $10 to sponsor a Food Rescue and forward this message onto your friends to see if they would do the same.  I can’t begin to estimate the number of people in need that have been fed from the sacrificial volunteering of time from our volunteers around the country, and I pray that your $10 gift and forwarding to friends would make the same impact.  

 You can make this donation at FoodRescue.net using the paypal Donate button in the lower left hand corner, or mail the check to the address below.  As times are as difficult as they have ever been in our country, we do not underestimate the sacrifice of even $10.

God bless and thanks for you consideration,

John Williamson, Food Rescue President

Want to get involved? Check out the websites mentioned and see if there's a chapter of Food Rescue near you. If there's not, look into starting one or starting something similar- as she said, it's appalling that there are both tons of food going to waste AND hungry people among us.

Here, Mary, (in green) is with her 2 daughters and her friend, setting up for Caroline & Josh's rehearsal dinner in June. She blogs at a private family blog, and I wish she wrote more guest posts for me, because she's a hilarious and animated writer- and a great photographer, too!

World AIDS Day

Today is World AIDS Day.
I remember once-upon-a-time when the AIDS crisis was treated like a crisis, and it was in the news all the time. Today, I hear very little about it in the media. Contrary to what you might ahve heard, the problem has NOT gone away. It breaks my heart that the West is practically ignoring the epidemic, treating Africa as a hospice rather than the home of millions of our brothers and sisters.

One organization that is making a difference in a very strategic way is Loving South Africa. South Africa is the epicenter of the crisis, and LSA is trying to find a holistic way to alleviate some of the suffering there. They are attacking the the disease from all angles by partnering with groups in the Kwazulu Natal region that treat different aspects of the disease.
Evangelism
Prevention
Testing
Treatment
Orphanages
Hospice

I particularly appreciate the whole-person approach LSA is taking. Bring the good news to people. Give them practical life skills to not only avoid contracting HIV but hold a job and become a leader. Offer testing for those who want it, to catch the disease early. Provide affordable treatment. Care for the children of the victims of the disease- many of whom are sufferers as well. Treat those dying from AIDS with love and respect. A beautiful plan- if any one of the aspects of the ministry was missing, there would be a hole that sufferers would fall through. This approach is truly "loving accurately".

Quick Book Review: The Becoming of G-d

When I started this book, The Becoming of G-d by Ian Mobsby, I described it to my husband as "dry". I mean, I had never read Trinitarian theology before, and I was a bit intimidated by it. I was determined to finish the short book, however, and by the end I took back what I said. The book is scholarly, for sure, but Mobsby brings the theology around to an applicable level, which was understandable and full of examples.

The book starts as a discussion of the Trinity, then moves to show how our view of the Trinity informs the way we "do" church. Specifically, he talks about the emerging church and new monastic communities, explaining how a view of the Trinity as eternally in community and mysterious informs the values of these movements. The author is from the UK, so discusses the emerging church from a non-US perspective, as it relates to the Anglican church, which I found particularly interesting. Every now and then I need to get out of my American-Christian bubble, you know?

Honestly, I had a pretty simple view of "God as three-in-one" without giving much thought to the full theology behind it. Through Mobsby's descriptions, I gained a better understanding and much deeper appreciation for all that is the beautiful Trinitarian relationship. One of the most unexpected things about the book, after all the scholarly citations, was the last chapter- poems and art to use as devotions while reflecting on the mystery and beauty of the Trinity.
acne
If any of this sounds interesting to you, the book is worth a read. I expect to include this one in the church library.