Peace.

For tonight, a few minutes of quiet in the midst of life.  

Perspective

Wesley  House has a mouse (or mice?) which we are trying to trap.  Setting mouse traps makes me feel like I could lose a finger at any moment.  This afternoon a student sent me this picture and I thought we had the smartest mouse in town - like it could read the sign or something!  I also began to wonder just how many of these little creatures might be running around our kitchen (GROSS!)  Just as I was pondering this I received the message that this was just a photo-shopped image.  They laughed that it actually fooled me, but even now I think it looks real!  It's all a matter of perspective I guess.  

Perspective seems to be the theme of my week thus far.  I have been dealing with some tension between my leaders and their ability to care for, respect, and work with one another.  It's a subtle tension that always seems present and it makes my brain and heart hurt!  It's hard for us to see where another person is coming from, and even hard to care for another person when you disagree with their rationale.  We perceive things through the lens of our experiences, our opinions and desires.  It's easy to assume that we are in the right and the other is clearly in the wrong.   Often these misconceptions are rooted in our failure to communicate clearly with one another.  Sometimes, whether we like it or not, we just fail to remove our egos from the equation and point fingers.  

This isn't a new phenomenon, just read this Scripture from Luke's gospel:  

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed[a] thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

We can choose who we want to be like in this parable.  Do we want to look upon others with disdain, mocking them in order that we praise God for making us the superior person?  Do we come to God like the tax-collector, humbled and ready to ask God to right our actions and thoughts?  Perhaps we are a mix of both of these characters as we go through the often challenging process of learning from and looking through another person's perspective.  

Before assuming someone else is wrong isn't it worth the investment of time to ask "What makes them act/respond this way?"  What are the struggles of a person's heart that lead them to make the judgement calls they make?  How can we look beyond getting what we want/our own desires in order that all people have the opportunity to utilize their gifts for the Kingdom of God?

Thankfully my mouse friend is NOT real.  My perspective changed quickly upon getting all the facts.  I wonder though what other situations in my life I am reacting too quickly to, leading to false perceptions.  Who am I judging harshly though I do not have all the facts?

As the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 139, "Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  This is my prayer tonight for myself, for my Wesley leaders, and for you!  Thanks be to God.  

9 Servings of Fruit

All of the members of my immediate family are enjoying warm weather.  It is fun to hear from them as they have adventures, see new things, and let me know some of the details of their days.  Here in Big Rapids we had another dark winter day.  I am one of those people that loves the sun.  I can only take so many days like today before I need to see the sun, even if the temperature is cold.  Many people up here really suffer from the change of seasons and the dark days that often come with long winters.  For me the darkness can make me want to hibernate, sleep, eat, and wear sweatpants.  This seasons also brings with it a change of perspective as things go sort of dormant, waiting for the first signs of spring.   

For me, this seasonal cycle coincides with the liturgical calendar of the church.  As we begin to look toward spring we head into this time of Lent, which helps us to pause and take an intentional look at our faith journey.  This is a necessary part of the year for me as I can often become sort of lackadaisical in my spiritual disciplines.  Hearing the tales of warm sunny days, orange juice and strawberries reminded me today of the scripture about the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5).  

Take a look at the list above.  These are the things that are born in us when we are connected to the Spirit.  These are the results of the deep, challenging journey of trusting God, deepening our relationships with God and others.  These are the attributes out of which we yearn to live as disciples of Jesus.  I long for my life to be more about these fruits and less about my ego, my opinions, and my desires.  How about you?

My prayer for tonight is simple:  
Jesus, help me to be open to the Spirit.  Teach me how to be less in order that these fruits be born again in me.  Help me to love, to be kind, to have discipline, and to be gentle.  Plant these seeds in me that I may bear Your fruit.  Amen.  

Teaching an "old" dog new tricks.

Welcome to my life! This is how I feel some of the time, just a taste of the many things I learn working with young adults.  Honestly, this app has cracked me up for days now.  In fact, it's taken me some time to figure out just how hilarious it can be.  We are in the midst of final preparations for our Cake Auction, an event that helps us raise funds for our spring break mission trip to NYC.  This trip is going to be amazing and I am anxious to see the many ways we will be changed as we work with the homeless population, the elderly, and the hungry.  We will even offer a prayer station on Wall Street for a few hours, praying with anybody who stops by.  This will STRETCH my students (and me too!)

I've never much liked the "party-planning" piece of ministry.  I'm not very good at it.  Waiting and praying for all these details and plans to fall into place in order that things run smoothly can make me a nervous wreck.  I don't know how many times in preparing for these events I have convinced myself that nobody is going to come, only for God to knock my socks off with blessings.  So I too find myself constantly on this journey of trust, patience, and planning.  I am a work in progress, just ask anybody who has to be around me these days!

In the midst of the most tedious of tasks: sending emails, writing letters, printing schedules and liability forms, and dealing with a bit of extra drama on the side I find that I can become pretty joy-less.  That's when somebody pops into my office and teaches me about these silly filters on SnapChat.  These moments filled with laughter remind me that there is joy in the midst of the details - as we read in Scripture, there's even joy to be found in the deepest struggles.  Sometimes all it takes is one person, or one moment of absurdity to help us regain perspective.  If the God who created us, knit us together for a purpose we cannot lose hope and joy when the details of the world overwhelm us.  After all, our joy is in the Lord, right?!

The Scripture I read this morning really spoke to me about this, Psalm 126:

1-3 It seemed like a dream, too good to be true,
    when God returned Zion’s exiles.
We laughed, we sang,
    we couldn’t believe our good fortune.
We were the talk of the nations—
    “God was wonderful to them!”
God was wonderful to us;
    we are one happy people.

4-6 And now, God, do it again—
    bring rains to our drought-stricken lives
So those who planted their crops in despair
    will shout hurrahs at the harvest,
So those who went off with heavy hearts
    will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.

And now God, do it again!  In the midst of crazy political campaigning,  the nitty-gritty details of our days, long work hours, grumpy and tired moments, snow....may we be opened up to the realization that we are God's beloved...now and forever. 

What brings you joy this day, and how have you shared that joy with others? 

Love is...

Happy Valentine's Day everyone (well there's about 51 minutes left of it!).  Tonight's reflection is simple, it comes right out of Paul's letter to the churches in Corinth.  These early church communities were made up of two groups, the Jewish-Christians and the Gentile-Christians.  The Jewish believers still held on to many of their ideals, following specific rules, doing things in a specific manner.  They'd been taught this way and formed this way their entire lives.  The Gentiles on the other hand had never subscribed to this same understanding of faith.  This tension led these early Christians to quarrel (can you believe it?!)

Paul writes many important things in this letter, but today let's read the beloved passage, 1 Corinthians 13:

The Way of Love

13 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.2 If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.Love never gives up.Love cares more for others than for self.Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.Love doesn’t strut,Doesn’t have a swelled head,Doesn’t force itself on others,Isn’t always “me first,”Doesn’t fly off the handle,Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,Doesn’t revel when others grovel,Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,Puts up with anything,Trusts God always,Always looks for the best,Never looks back,But keeps going to the end.8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.11 When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.12 We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!13 But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

Paul was challenging these early believers to ground the building up of this faith in love.  This Scripture challenges us even today.  How are you doing with the things Paul wrote about in verses 3-7?  I know I could use some improvement.  

It's Valentine's Day and for me this day has reminded me again how blessed I am to have the opportunity to do what I do, and to serve where I serve.  I think of the many people I have grown to deeply love at each church and period in my life thus far.  I am especially grateful this day that I have been called by God to serve alongside some very gifted, faithful, kind young adults.  It is a such a blessing to be a small part of their lives as they discern where/what God is calling them to be/do.

Love is patient, love is kind.  As the Beatles once said, "All you need is love." 

The longer I live, the more I realize that this is really the truth.  

As the Wesley House motto says this year, "Love more. Judge less." That's my goal.
Happy Valentine's Day friends, I pray you know you are loved beyond measure by a Great God.