One never knows...

This morning as I drink my coffee on the patio, listening to the waterfall, I read what was going on this day in the past.

One catches my attention, in particular, from 2012 on this day August 15: "Stepping (way) out of my comfort zone and writing/sending a letter to someone who owns a house that keeps calling me for ministry purposes.  I'm hoping that "be bold and courageous" wasn't just for Joshua back in the day....."

Ah, The brick house on Hixson Pike. I wrote the letter to the owner and sent it. I never heard anything back. When I sent that letter, I didn't what would happen. All I knew was that I that hiuse wouldn't leave me alone.

I did go to the house and visit the owners when it became a hair salon. They did well for a while. It is now a tattoo shop. Every now and then the little brick house still whispers to me. I continue to pray blessings over it as I drive by. However, I recognized that occupancy is one of those dreams that one let's go of..... In that house I saw ministry... Bible studies, activities, a place to be, knit, crochet, play music, share life, drink coffee, learn English, who knows what else..... it could have become anything. Yet it wasn't to be. It takes money to make some dreams come true. Money wasn't what I had, just a dream.

But, I followed through with the nudge I had, because one never knows. What if the owner read my letter and felt nudged by the Spirit to join in the adventure?! I can only do my part, follow the nudges I am given.

Today at lunch ("Engage Rossville") I will learn about some new things that are happening in Rossville, GA in the faith community. I am looking forward to hearing those things. Where will I plug in? Where will the churches I serve get involved? I don't have answers to that yet.

I do know that I continue to see good things happening. Therefore, I will continue to walk by faith, to trust in the nudges I have, and be bold and courageous in living into the calling.

Live into the nudges, because one never knows....

Blessings on your journey,

Debra

P.S. As I finish writing this, I look up and see this cloud formation. To me it looks like a big hand.

An Interfaith Dialogue Panel--thoughts, reflections, resources

"What is it like to be you, to live in your faith, here in the Chattanooga area?"

That is the question (or something close) that was posed to the panel, the Interfaith Panel of Chattanooga.  (I knew that in advance, luckily, because I ran about 15 minutes late to the panel discussion due to a prior meeting.)

This panel has been travelling around town, sharing their personal experience with audiences at a variety of locations in order to help dispel stereotypes and ignorance.  Last night they were at St. Elmo UMC in St. Elmo and it was co-sponsored by Thankful Episcopal.

Last night's panel participants and moderator: Michael Dzik, Judaism; Nur Sisworahardjo, Islam; Sush Shantha, Hinduism; Brandon Jones, Atheism; and Lisa Harrison, Christianity.  Charles Neal, Moderator.

Each panel participant shared their personal experience-- the good, the challenges, whatever it was for them. After each of them shared, there was a time for questions from the audience.  One of the questions from the audience was 'in your faith tradition, what happens to you when you die?'  After the panel discussion, I learned from one panel participant that hearing the other participants answer was enlightening to this person.  They learned from the sharing time too.

This panel has been sharing around Chattanooga for at least over a year (with some variation in speakers) and will continue to share because they understand the importance of creating space to share and listen, to dispel stereotypes and ignorance. It is a wonderful step in the right direction.

The Interfaith Panel of Chattanooga now has a FaceBook page: Interfaith Panel of Chattanooga.  The purpose of the group from the FaceBook page:  "The purpose of the Interfaith Panel is to increase understanding and appreciation for the diversity of faith in Chattanooga. The event is free and open to the public.  The panel will meet at different places of worship and talk about the challenges they face practicing their faith in Chattanooga.  Like and share this page to stay in touch with the panelists and the upcoming venue for the next meeting."

As many cities in the world these days, Chattanooga is a multicultural, multilingual, multiracial, and multifaith place. It is to our benefit if we learn about one another as we share the same space.

Yet, it's a struggle we've had for many years.  Instead of learning how to live with one another well, we sent folks off to another place to live.  We segregated schools, buses, and water fountains.

Though we have continued to struggle, it is discussions like these, interfaith dialogue panels that give me hope.

They remind me of my multicultural leadership classes I took.  In one of those classes we watched a video project where people around the world had table fellowship with one another to get to know one another in order to dispel ignorance and stereotypes.  Faith wasn't part of the discussion.  It was simply that they were different from each other.

This project was called the Next Door Family.

Here is the Next Door Family video:

Some books in one of my multicultural leadership classes that might be beneficial to someone who is seeking to learn about "others" in their community:

whistling vivaldi: how stereotypes affect us and what we can do by Claude Steele
lifting the White Veil: A Look at White American Culture by Jeff Hitchcock

A book on interfaith dialogue:

Getting to the Heart of Interfaith: The Eye-Opening, Hope-Filled Friendship of a Pastor, A Rabbi, & a Sheikh by Pastor Don Mackenzie, Rabbi Ted Falcon and Sheikh Jamal Rahman

These are just some of the resources I have on hand. It's only the tip of the iceberg of what is available for us if we want to learn more.  Truly, a great way to learn more is to engage with others in dialogue and table fellowship.  As we get to know others, their culture, their faith, etc., then the stereotypes and ignorance disappear.

It's a much better community and world when we learn to live together, to support one another, to encourage one another, regardless of race, religion, gender, sex, nationality, language, etc.  We say this is how we are going to live and treat one another, but do we?!?!

May we continue to make steps toward unity in community!

Debra

A New Day--Twila Paris' "Joy of the Lord"

Every day IS a new day.

Fresh with new opportunities.

This morning I hear birds singing and chirping, right before the neighbor's air conditioning unit kicks in.

The sky is clear and blue with some white clouds.

As I prepare my heart, mind, and soul for today, this day of worship, I breathe in the beauty of creation and breathe out the junk of whatever is inside me.  I breathe in the very breath of God and breathe out those things that would hinder me today.

I spend time listening to the birds, the air conditioning unit, and even the guns from the shooting club down the hill.  It's part of my "be still and know" time.

Today I have the opportunity to talk about faith.  That is the lectionary Scripture I am on for the month of August, Hebrews.  Today begins with Hebrews 11 and today's sermon is "What Is Faith?"  I find that no matter what topic I tend to be sharing from the pulpit, something personal or pertaining to life comes into play.  Lectionary has allowed me to preach in series and preach applicably.  It has also preached to me.

The dawning of a new day, a new sunrise, always brings me hope. Faith brings me hope.  Maybe I'll share the sermon later today.  Not that it will be great or anything, just to share what I shared.

May there be newness in your life today.  May there be faith and hope (and while we're at it.... may there be love).

Whatever this day brings, may the joy of the Lord be your strength.  That's from Nehemiah 8:10.  It's a verse stuck in my head because of a Twila Paris song back in the 90s.

Blessings on your journey, 

Debra

A dream deferred

Suzuki GS450

What do you do with dreams?

Sometimes you are able to live into them fully.  At other times you let them go or die, for one reason or another. A third option is to put the dream on hold, to defer it, until the timing is right.

One dream I am living into is writing. I started writing when I was about five years old.  There are other dreams that I am living into and will live into, but that isn't what this is about today.

I have let go of several dreams:  the dream to have a retreat center on the family Walker county farm property, the dream to be able to go back to taekwondo, and others.

Does it mean there will never be a retreat center where people gather for spiritual formation? No. Not necessarily. It just won't be that location. Will I stop doing martial arts? No. I just can no longer do taekwondo. My body needs tai chi at this time.

Paths change as life changes.

What about those deferred dreams?  One has to do with calling and the other became a spiritual disciplines for me. 

Hispanic ministry is part of my calling and has been since college. I am able to live into some through La Paz by volunteering. Who knows?!  And there is that salón de belleza near one of the three churches I need to get back to.... I don't know where I will end up or how I will end up using Spanish, but I know it is part of what I have been created to be. (I have had many opportunities in the past to live into this part of my being... Spanish VBS in Dayton, TN, mission trips to Costa Rica, Esperanza del Barrio, My Sister's House, etc. It is a dry season. Even so, God has reminded me of the calling and my equipping in various ways. I wait in faith for the next step of opportunity.)

The other dream deferred? A motorcycle. Yesterday I saw a Suzuki 450. Of course it was older. They don't make them anymore. I know than an older bike is not for me. That is why I let go of the 750 Yamaha. I had planned to get a 650 Suzuki until my hip started acting up again.  A 650 would be too big. The next option is a 250 Honda Rebel. I may go there. But not yet. I have to make sure that I can really still ride with the hip. 

I mentioned that riding became a spiritual disciplines for me. Being on two wheels with the wind beneath my wings was a way for me to connect with the Creator. It goes way back to my childhood days.  At the moment, it is a dream deferred. But, if I have to let it go, I will work through it, just as I did when I let the 750 Yamaha go.

Yamaha 750 Maxim

It broke down at bottom of neighborhood two years ago August, but I could still smile.

What dreams are you letting go? What dreams have you deferred? What dreams are you living into?

Blessings on your journey, 

Debra 

Love is a Spiritual Practice

Coffee on the patio with Macrina Wiederkehr this morning.  It's slightly humid, but it's still nice to be outside.  There are some blue skies poking through the white puffy clouds and grey ones.  There are birds chirping and singing.  A breeze would take away the sticky humidity, but I don't mind right now while the temperature is 75 degrees. 

I picked up where I left off in Macrina Wiederkehr's Abide: Keeping Vigil with the Word of God, page 149, in the middle of a chapter on love.  I have found this book, Abide, to be one that I chew slowly. Sometimes I won't make it through an entire chapter because I stop on something and reflect. Because it is so filling, I put it down for a while before I pick it up again.  I have been working my way through this book now for four years.  That's okay.  I'm in no hurry to soak up and soak in the good stuff.

"This Tremendous Love" is the chapter I had been reading.  As I picked up where I left off, I read these words: "Why not pray for compassion for those who have hurt us?  Compassion is good medicine." (149)  Yes, compassion IS good medicine.  I spent last week reflecting on compassion and doing compassion work in myself and for others with Frank Rogers as our guest speaker at the Fellowship of United Methodist Spiritual Directors and Retreat Leaders (Hearts on Fire) retreat. Compassion is fresh on my mind.  

"Love is a spiritual practice." (149)  Hmmm.... I've not considered love to be a spiritual practice before.  I don't think I've ever seen it in one of the "lists".  But then again, neither did I see blogging or contemplative photography and those have become spiritual practices for me.  I have seen journaling on the list and blogging is an online way of journaling.  But, love?!?!  How can love be a spiritual practice?  What does love have to do with the spiritual?!?!  I believe it has everything to do with the spiritual. If we don't have love, we have nothing.  If we don't learn to love, then we have missed the point.  If we can't love, then we cannot love God, our neighbor, or ourselves.  Love is everything.  Love IS a spiritual practice.

Macrina continues, "It doesn't happen automatically.  We have to practice loving." (149)  Just as we would practice any activity that we are learning to master, we must practice loving.  We must practice in order to build muscle memory and to learn what it feels like.  

Macrina offers a challenge, "What about opening our hearts to those who have wounded us? What about forgiving?  What about loving our enemies?  What about becoming who we really are?" (149)

These things require the practice of opening our heart, of becoming open and staying open-- to ourselves and to others.  

"Being and becoming take time, and commitment to stay open is at the very core of what it means to be a person." (Mark Nepo, The Exquisite Risk: Daring To Live An Authentic Life)

Practice love. Practice forgiveness. Practice compassion.

How are we growing in this spiritual practice? 

The Scripture passage that goes along with this chapter is Matthew 5:38-48. Here is version from The Message:

38-42 “Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

43-47 “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

Read it through several times.  What captures your attention?  How are you challenged to become more loving?

Macrina encourages us: "This loving place really does exist in us.  It is from this place of freedom and peace that with practice in opening our hearts, we can turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, or hand over our cloak to the one who wants to borrow." (150)

She notes, "Nothing will ever bring us the peace we long for except God's love flowing through our being." (151)  Allowing God's love to flow through our being WILL bring us peace.  I am most at peace when God's love is flowing through me, to myself and to others.  

May we grow in our love towards God, others, and ourselves as we practice the spiritual practice of love.

Blessings on your journey, 

Debra

A new day... seek the Lord and rejoice

"Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice." 1 Chronicles 16:10 (NIV)

Mornings are the time in my day for me to "pause".  This morning was a little more difficult for me to get up as I hit yesterday hard at work after a week of retreat and a board meeting.

With my cup of coffee, I headed outside to see the glories of the Creator in the sky.  Some mornings there will be Scriptures or songs that automatically pop into my mind when I look at the scenery. Today I did a search on biblegateway.com for something related to "glory of the Lord" and found 1 Chronicles 16:10.  That resonated.

I may be a little tired this morning, but my heart seeks the Lord and it can rejoice.

"Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice." 1 Chronicles 16:10 (NIV)

Often a breath prayer is a way to draw near to God.  I have prayed them in the past and last week we had the opportunity to create a breath prayer after a reflection time that allowed us to pray for a certain situation.

Breath prayers are a way to pray as you breathe in and breathe out.  Thus the name breath prayer. They are short prayers.  They are focused prayers.

Ken Hagler has been posting breath prayers quite regularly on his sites and one caught my attention yesterday.

"Light of life, I can't see.  Be light to my feet."

I don't know why it caught my attention. Maybe it was the bright light in the corner.  Maybe it was because it spoke of "Light".  Some days I see clearly and others days I don't.  Maybe that's why it caught my attention.  I am okay with the Thomas Merton prayer of unknowing.  

Ken had also posted a blog yesterday that I didn't get a chance to read.  When I went to his blog site this morning to find the breath prayer, I found it in yesterday's blogpost: Seven Practices of Discernment in the Valley of Suck.

In this post, Ken points to a video on breath prayers, but also gives great insight on the long and varied journey through grief.

What?!?!  How does this relate to the beginning of this post, that 'those who seek the Lord will rejoice.'????  In the both/and world, in the paradox of life, there is grieving and rejoicing.  Our hearts can rejoice for one thing and grieve another.  That's the way it is.  At least, that is how I've experienced it.  

For me to keep pressing on with focus and intentionality, I need to find ways to breathe in, to breathe out, to live into radical compassion, to follow the ways of Christ, and to grieve any and all losses in due time, in my time.

It's a new day.  A new opportunity.  May the Light shine the way for next steps.  May my heart rejoice.  May the journey continue.

May the Light shine for your next steps and may your heart rejoice today as well.

Blessings on your journey, 

Debra

When the retreat is over and the rubber meets the road, so to speak

I spent last week in a retreat focused on the way of Radical Compassion: loving God, loving others, and loving ourselves. It was the tip of the iceberg compared to what they do in their program, but it was great. Frank Rogers is a gifted speaker. He has two books out and I look forward to reading the one that arrived yesterday.

It was also great to be with and worship with spiritual directors and retreat leaders from around the country.

But, how does all that learning, training, and "being" translate into the real world?

So far, so good. But I know that the new shine will wear off, the fullness can deplete. It is an intentional moment by moment choice to live with compassion.

I sent an email this morning in which I typed "form". Autocorrect changed it to "former". I didn't catch it until afterwards. Normally, I would be less kind to myself. I don't like typographical errors.  Today, I let it go.

I went by the high school to find out what happened with a form I dropped off last month. The person said they saw it, but didn't know what to do with it.  No one had called. The person I spoke with on the day I left it didn't add a note. The form is slightly self evident.  Instead of becoming frustrated, however, I showed compassion and grace.

Then I called the Pediatrician office to inquire about the nutrition form that was supposed to be faxed in last month. We had received a reminder letter. Because of nut and peanut butter allergies, this is important. They found the form, sitting in the outbox. It had not been faxed. Today is the deadline. Grace and compassion reigned again.

To respond with grace and compassion consistently means that my tank needs to be full. I must be filling up at the Source of grace and compassion in order to offer it to myself and others.

I am grateful for last week's retreat and teaching.

When I royally mess up or situations out of my control occur, I hope to be quick to apply the new tools in my tool belt.

At the moment, I am finishing up a breakfast sandwich and an espresso at Starbucks before heading into the office. I was looking forward to all those extra stars that would be added to my account, until I realized that the promotional ended yesterday.  Oh well.

I decided to make it worth my while.....I needed breakfast anyway. It feels great sitting outside here in the sunshine. It is a pause moment.

I am grateful for opportunities to love God and love others as myself.

Blessings on your journey,

Debra