Giving and Forgiving

In worship this morning at my church we sang one of my favorite hymns: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee. I love the words and Beethoven's music is without equal. As we were singing, we came to one of my favorite lines Thou art giving and forgiving.
I think that when I was growing up I liked this line because it seemed like a clever use of words. However, now I embrace their deep truth. God is indeed giving and forgiving. In this brief phrase is revealed much about Who God is.
God gives. Jesus tells us that God loved the world that God gave God's only Son. God's first instinct is to give. In creating all that is, God gave us all that we need. When Adam was alone, God gave him Eve. When the Hebrew people cried out under the yoke of slavery in Egypt, God gave them their freedom and a land of their own. Over and over again, God gives not because people deserve it but because giving is God's nature.
God also forgives. When the people rebelled against God and grumbled as they wandered in the desert, God forgave. When the Israelites broke God's laws and forgot who they were as God's chosen people, God sent prophets to call them back into covenant relationship. When Jesus hung on the cross, he cried out to his Father for mercy asking God to forgive his executors because they did not know what they were doing. Forgiveness is a part of God's essence.
It was good to once again be reminded again today in worship that God gives and forgives. Without what God has given me, I would have nothing. I have accomplished nothing without God's grace. I have a home, a car, a job, clothes, and this computer that I blog on because God has given them all to me.
In the same way, I would be nothing without the power of God's forgiveness. My sin is a weight that would forever sink me into death and destruction. I am broken and selfish and foolish and arrogant and judgmental and rude and gluttonous and self-centered and on and on. However, all that is forgiven in Christ Jesus. His death and resurrection have it all covered. God forgives and breathes mercy and grace into my life each and every day.
So, tonight I'm giving thanks to my God Who gives and forgives. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Mother's Day and Birthday Celebration

I was so glad to be back in worship at my church this morning. I was grateful to hear my pastor preach and grateful for the music. The children's choir sang along with the adult choir and they were both wonderful. We sang Love Divine, All Loves Excelling which is one of my favorite hymns. It was just a good morning to worship with my brothers and sisters in Christ.
In his sermon this morning, the pastor shared the following list of things that you would never hear your mom say:


1. "How on earth can you see the TV sitting so far back?"


2. "Yeah, I used to skip school a lot, too"


3. "Just leave all the lights on ... it makes the house look more cheery"


4. "Let me smell that shirt---- Yeah, it's good for another week"


5. "Go ahead and keep that stray dog, honey. I'll be glad to feed and walk him every day"


6. "Well, if Timmy's mom says it's OK, that's good enough for me."


7. "The curfew is just a general time to shoot for. It's not like I'm running a prison around here."


8. "I don't have a tissue with me ... just use your sleeve"


9. "Don't bother wearing a jacket - the wind-chill is bound to improve"

I definitely never heard my Mom say any of these things and probably never will. Oh well, happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you!

I also want to wish my nephew Cameron a happy eighth birthday.While his birthday party this year was slightly calmer than the year we went to Chuck-E-Cheese's or Pump It Up, it was still pretty loud and very sticky. I hope that he had a great day. Happy birthday Cameron! I love you!
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Happy Easter!

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

- Christ the Lord Is Risen Today, Charles Wesley

Fat Tuesday

One of our wonderful Habitat volunteers brought in Mardi Gras beads in for everyone in the Habitat office. She gave me a set of beads with a pig on them. She said this was in honor of my preparation for walking the Flying Pig half-marathon. I was glad she clarified that. I was hoping she wasn't trying to give me some other not-so-subtle message.
The beginning of Lent has kind of snuck up on me. This continues to happen the longer than I am out of leadership in the church. I see now how my parishioners must have felt. When you work outside the church, the liturgical year is not really on your radar screen. I try to keep up but sometimes I really feel out of it. The Christian seasons that so ordered my work and ministry in the church seem more difficult to relate to in my current work. Poverty does not know any season. Whether it's Lent or Advent or Epiphany, sub-standard housing is ever present in our world. On this evening before the beginning of Lent, children all over the TriState region and around the world will go to sleep in houses that are unsafe and unsanitary.
Don't misunderstand me. The Christian year helps me to mark time in a way that the secular calendar does not. It draws my attention to God and God's timing for my life and the world. I am grateful for the discipline that the Lenten season will bring to my life. I think it will help me focus in a new way on my relationship with Christ and the state of my soul. I know God will speak and move and call me to a holy life once again. I guess it's just harder for me to find that focus outside full-time service within the church.
However, that is good for me. I have to be intentional about it. I have to as that great hymn challenges me to "take time to be holy." If I don't take the time to be holy, I may miss out on what God is doing and saying. I may miss out on new ways that God is calling me to be in ministry. I may miss out on an opportunity to serve others or speak Truth to a world filled with lies.
So, on this Fat Tuesday, I'm pausing to prepare. While I'd really like to eat a whole bunch of sweets, I'm going to refrain from that and simply take the time to prepare my heart and mind and body for the journey that is Lent. I want to commit to a Holy Lent. I hope to spend more time in prayer and to do some self-examination. It will be both a time to ask for forgiveness and a time to experience anew God's amazing grace.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Star-Child

We sang a hymn today in worship that I have never sung before entitled Star-Child. It's from the United Methodist Church's The Faith We Sing hymnal supplement. There are many beautiful songs in this supplement and Star-Child is certainly among the most beautiful and touching songs I've sung.
The hymn is certainly appropriate for Christmas and Epiphany but today in our worship service it was also quite appropriate as we continue through this season after the Epiphany. The theme of the service related to God's justice and the ways in which Jesus turned the order of the world upside down with his ministry and presence on earth.
I found this You-Tube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTD_Zz829So of a girls choir singing Star-Child but they omit the verse that I think is the most powerful and the one that really touched my heart as we sang it today in worship. It speaks to the sad reality that there are so many children in our world who have had their innocence stolen by the neglect and abuse of others. There are so many places in our world where children will not be given the chance to simply be children because they are dealing with the harsh realities of the brokenness of this world.
And while these lyrics were very difficult for me to sing this morning, I also found power in them as they left my lips. They challenged me to do what I can to be an advocate for those children who are continually marginalized by our society. In my role as the Family Services Coordinator at TriState Habitat for Humanity, I have the opportunity to bring change to the lives of children living in poverty through the reality of safe, decent, and affordable homes for their families. This is one way that I can remind families and the communities in which Habitat works that God is Emmanuel - God with us.
Here's the verse that's not in the video and that touched me so deeply:

Street child, beat child,
No place left to go,
Hurt child, used child
No one wants to know:
This year, this year
Let the day arrive
When Christmas comes
for ev'ryone, ev'ryone alive.
- lyrics by Shirley Erena Murray

May this year, this new year, be the year when Christmas comes for everyone alive. Amen!
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

The Tie that Binds

Today in worship we sang this wonderful hymn of the church. The sermon was about a faith that makes a difference. The pastor reminded us that our faith is not just something that we keep to ourselves. Instead, we are called to make a difference in the lives of others. One of the ways we do this is to connect with others in faith and community. Grace draws us together from different backgrounds and life experiences. Grace unites us when nothing else can. Grace pushes us on toward the goal.
Today was a good reminder for me of my need for community. As an introvert, I sometimes find myself living like a hermit. I am not a very social person and yet I need community. I need others who are going to challenge me and support me in this journey. I need people who will hold me accountable and encourage me. I need the gifts that others bring to this world. I need the tie that binds me to others in Christian love.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Long May Our Land Be Bright

May you have a wonderful Independence Day!