road of compassion

Holy One - These days are long and nights seem too short.  Be our strength and our meaningful rest. We are often weak amid the daily struggle to be all that the world pressures us to be.  There is a desire to keep working so hard to prove our worth.  In the wilderness of doubt you stand strong reaching out to guide us.  Where we fall short pick us up and put our feet on the path of compassion - compassion for ourselves and others.   Guide us to walk gently with others, to embrace our worth as your beloved, and to share your love with those we encounter on this Lenten road.  Transform, inspire and create in us a new spirit as we come through the wilderness into the hope of new life.
  ~ Peace

mindfully present ...

In light of my post the other day I must admit that I have done more talking then I would like.  A lot of my words have been driven by angst surrounding my commitment to cut out excess spending during Lent.  Yesterday I had to go to the store to purchase some food supplies for the weekend and soap for the new dishwasher.  I have been so concerned about my violation to my lenten commitment that I have talked about it way too much.  I think I am missing the point.  The point is to change the direction of my mind by not wastefully using my resources and to focus more on the God who sustains me.  As I was in the store with my short list it was very tempting to add all the nonessentials clearly not on my list to my shopping cart.
In the midst of my whining I have realized that I shop and eat out when I am bored.  I have been blessed by moments of slowing down as I try to think through my day before it gets under way to bring food and tea with me as I leave the house.  I have picked up my knitting needles and yarn that fills the bin.  I have also been engaging more in the practice of meditation and yoga - thanks to my stress relief and management class at www.oneroofsaratoga.com.  I have found that I am more aware, more mindful of my mind and body which makes me more present in each moment.
May you too be blessed with moments of slowing down this Lenten Season so that you can be more mindfully present with yourself and others.  Lenten Blessings!

Words of Grace and Truth?

I have started reading the Gospel of John for one of my Lenten practices.  I have always loved the beginning of this text and the ways that Word is used so poetically.  Here is what struck me ... "Everything came into being through the Word."  and "grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ [the Word]."  This Word brings grace and truth into the world.  It beacons the question to my heart What does my word bring into the world?  Grace and truth?  Today I am trying to speak the least amount of words necessary.  I am examining whether they bring grace and truth into the world.  

My spending is already an act toward the spiritual discipline simplicity.  The practice of simplicity also challenges one to speak less and listen more and to use your words in life giving ways.  Yesterday I took the day off and had a hard time with part one of the discipline practice of simplicity - not making unnecessary purchases like lunch.  And now I am adding this word thing and limiting my speech will be as challenging as part one!  

God, guide my thoughts and words that they may bring grace and truth into the world.  May your Word of life giving power shape my Lenten days and give me direction when I feel led by my earthly desires - like lunch out.  Amen. 

Light, Hope and Faithfulness!

The First Sunday in Lent was filled with laughter and blessing, celebration and joy.  Not what I expected.  Not what I planned.  It is a somber, melancholy day marked with temptation and wrestling in the wilderness.  Yet a light was present in the midst of the dead trees that marked our step on the Lenten journey.  That is how I think it is with God ... a light when we don't plan on it, a ray of hope when we don't expect it,  and a faithfulness when we are at our weakest.

One of the commitments I made for this Lenten season is to look for the holy amid the ordinary and this day I could have missed it.  We get so caught up in our own plan and agenda that we forget to look with an open heart past our own thoughts.

I am grateful for the staff I am blessed to work with each day, the children and youth who open my heart, and the faithful support of those who nurture my soul by their presence and support. Each of you have helped me see the light this day past my own thoughts.  In the people I am honored to serve I have found hope in the most unexpected moments.  And in God's faithful presence I have found strength.

This First Sunday in Lent was filled with laughter and blessing, celebration and joy ... 

Thanks be to God!

37 more days ...

Working on a sermon about temptation really puts a different twist on the purchases I thought I "needed" to make on my errands today.  A couple of years ago a dear friend gave up unnecessary spending during Lent, like lunches out for instance.  This kept going through my mind as I fought the temptation to go out for lunch rather than heading home where plenty of options grace my cupboards.   For the next 37 days I will take up fasting from unnecessary spending.  I will purchase gas and groceries on a limited cash (no debit card) budget.  This practice will keep me mindful of all the things I think I need that I really don't and remind me of all the ways I have been truly blessed - well that is the goal!  What can you do without these next 37 days?  A little fasting and simplicity will clear the way for more mindfulness and holy connection.  

I am writing this as I partake of my gluten free pasta, garlic and broccoli made by my hands in my kitchen - Heather = 1, Temptation = 0!  Did i say 37 days?  

Rainbows in a Box

Rainbows and Lent a curios combination.  I have been wrestling with the lectionary texts for the first Sunday in Lent.  We have the Hebrew Scripture speaking of God's promise of faithful relationship with all living creatures on the face of the earth. The rainbow in the cloud serves as a reminder.  As we move to the Gospel of Mark we hear a voice from the cloud as Jesus rises out of the Jordan and we walk with Jesus into the wilderness to face temptation.

From the cloud we see the rainbow and hear the voice of unconditional love.  Where are those sights and sounds as Jesus struggles with the human temptations of this world?  Where are they as I struggle with this human condition that desires power and the acquisition of stuff?  Perhaps I am looking too hard for miraculous signs and wonders while missing it in the everyday sacred moments.  Maybe the voice is found in the supportive words of a dear friend and the rainbows in a box on my doorstep.  To change the direction of my mind and heart this season might be to simply look at the blessings with wider eyes and to hear the sounds with open ears in everyday living. And in the midst of it all I may find myself in deeper connection to the Faithful One who set the rainbow in the sky and whispers the words of hope in my heart.  

Thanks be to God for rainbows and this journey we call Lent.  Rainbows and Lent a curious combination.

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust.

"Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust."   Words I have spoken alongside grieving families.  Familiar words that now echo through my day after Ash Wednesday Worship.  My colleague Pastor Drew Sperry reminded my heart once again of the sacredness we embody as we place our thumb in the ashes and smudge the sign of the cross on the skin of those we serve.  That moment of humble connection speaks of our human weakness as simple beings and of our human strength as relational beings.  Through it all I have learned that relationships are what make us stronger, they are what blesses our days and give meaning to our memory.  Love and connection last beyond the ashes and the dust.

Relationships - human connection - that is where my treasure is (as Jesus asked yesterday).  During these next 39 days I will pay deep attention to the human connections I make every day.  Paying deep attention means to remember that each interaction is sacred time.  I will work on changing the direction of my mind from the to do list of the day to the holiness of the moment of human connection.

Dear God, transform my heart to be more fully present in each moment.  I pray that my mind will honor the treasure of my heart and be at peace as I settle into the company of another.  Be present, Holy One, as I seek to be love and connection.

We have failed to love our neighbors, their offenses to forgive, have not listened to their troubles, nor have cared just how they live, we are jealous, proud, impatient, loving overmuch our things; may the yielding of our failings be our Lenten offerings.  ~ Sunday's Palms are Wednesday's Ashes

"Where your treasure is ... " Says Jesus and with these words our Lenten Journey begins.  Lent is a 40 day (minus Sunday's) period of self examination and reflection.  The 40 day journey represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness preparing for ministry and today, Ash Wednesday, we too begin our 40 day journey.  We end this journey on Holy Saturday, the day of silence as we anticipate the joy of Easter.  The ancient church used this season to prepare new converts for baptism on Easter Sunday.

This season of self examination and reflection starts with the haunting words of Jesus begging the question: where is my treasure, where is my heart?

I invite you to journey with me these 40 days as I wrestle with these haunting words of Jesus through self examination and reflection.  I will be reading the Gospel of John, faithfully practicing silence & meditation as well as intentionally looking for the holy in the midst of the ordinary.  Along the way I will look for other practices that will focus my attention on God and guide my heart to treasure the blessings that are new every morning. Each day there will be a post inspired by my practices and experiences.  Join with me ...