Fragile is a word that most of us only want to think about when considering crystal or pottery or antiques.
We CERTAINLY would NOT want to think of ourselves as fragile!
But why not?
A fragile crystal vase is something beautiful; created to be beautiful and useful as well.
How is that so different than you and I?
Why do we allow our society to dictate what it means to be strong....or fragile?  Why do we allow others to tell us how many hours we must work...or rest?
Why can't something or SOMEONE be both strong and fragile at the same time?
Why do we value "STUFF" and not each other?????  Or ourselves?????
If I sit and read a book or work on a piece of applique, am I a less valuable  person that when I work 60 hours a week?
If I start my morning by watching finches, cardinals, butterflies, hummingbirds and flowers, am I lazier than the one who gets up and vacuums and does 2 loads of laundry?  Really?  To WHOM??
God did not create us to be invincible, unbreakable, or in order to live up to anyone else's ideal than God's.
And......
YES, God does want us to read and create and watch nature and listen to birds sing and be.
YES....Even Jesus did these things.......
Sure, we are created to be useful as well, BUT, we are also called to enjoy that which God creates.
We are STRONG.
We are FRAGILE.
And we are beautiful when we are both!

Friends.....

Sorry it's been so long folks.....illness, work, work, work and ....well, anyway...I've missed this!


So here is the question:  What does it mean to be a friend?
What do you think of when you think of your friends?  Do you embody those same traits or characteristics?  Do you make friends with people who are like you or different than you?
I know, that's more than one question.  But, is it?  


Jesus calls us "friends"....in fact, he is very specific about telling the disciples that they are his friends.  And the fact that he does take the time to talk about this seems very profound and important to me.  
We sing the song, "What a friend we have in Jesus" but does that song really capture what it means for Jesus to be our friend?  Somehow--no disrespect here--the song has always seemed a little incomplete to me in its description of Jesus as our friend.


For me, a friend is someone who loves me when I am at my best and worst.  Someone who names the good stuff in me when I can't see it and calls me out [gently] when the bad stuff falls out.
A friend is someone who talks and listens; who makes me laugh and holds my hand when I cry.
In my own life, my friends have stood by me when I had cancer, when I made messes, when I triumphed and when I failed.
My friends are every color, shape, size, denomination, sexual orientation, in both political parties and in neither.  They don't think alike and some of them--if they were in the same room--would probably argue with each other!
They make me think, feel, change, stand my ground and, most of all, they make me better!
My friends let me do all the things I just described for them as well...and I am honored to do those things for them.
The above is not all that a friend is to me, but it is, for today, some of the most important qualities of a friend to me.


So what's missing here?  What's incomplete?
As I think more about this, perhaps it is that my own life as a friend does not live up to what Jesus would like me to be.  Oh, I know I'll always be somewhat "incomplete" simply because I'm human, but I also know that there is much room for improvement.  And, I don't think I am alone here.
And maybe, just maybe, the part about me being a friend in return is what I incorrectly think is missing in my friendship with Jesus.


Jesus is divine and whole and holy and so sometimes, I think we mistakenly believe that Jesus doesn't need us to be HIS friends, he just needs to be OURS.  
How WRONG that is!!!!
Jesus wants us--through our lives and our friendships to do all of these things and so very much more.  And Jesus---more than any other friend--knows we will have good and bad days being a friend and that's when we can count on him to fill in the gaps we leave.


That I have friends is amazing and wonderful and such a blessing!  And I thank each of you who are wonderful friends.
That I have a friend named Jesus Christ is a miracle.  And I will spend the rest of my life trying to show him how grateful I am!

Recently, much of my own prayer work has focused on centering myself in the deep peace of Christ.
This doesn't mean  that problems go away or that trouble doesn't come, but rather, it means that the way in which I am going to approach the issue and try to act comes from that deep place of being at peace with Christ being in charge instead of me.
Now I'm not always good at this....I sorta think most of us have a lot of work to do yet in this area.
But, if I see that the world needs to become a kinder, more civil, more peace-oriented place, than---at least what I have been taught---is that this begins with me....Remember the old song, "let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me"?
What if all the "me/s" in the world [just a note--that includes the me/s reading this] were to constantly start their day, their project, their job, their conversations by centering in the deep peace of Christ first and then,---OH I KNOW IT"S RISKY---but then, let Christ speak through you?  What do you think would happen to the person you are speaking to?  What do you think would happen to you?  
Can we change the world?  You BET!  How?
Stop trying to be it all, do it all, and get it all.
Center
in the DEEP peace 
of Christ.
Live, speak, work, dance, love, act, stand
in the DEEP peace
of Christ.
Breathe.
Risk.
And let Christ do the hard work.

What frustration it has been to be sick --during Lent!  My favorite time of the year when I feel so close to God and love to spend time with the people of God.
I did nothing to create this which just added to the frustration of it all.  I don't mean to say that I blame anyone for it was nobody's fault....just a fluke.
And it is frustrating because it is taking SO long to get this straightened out...I'm STILL trying to get normal blood tests and still have to have my liver checked for permanent damage.
Frustration---something every single one of us experiences.  It is something that some of us handle better than others.  It is something that cannot be prevented, but, in fact, can be handled well.
So...the lesson...prayer helps, and even, in some moments, screaming into the open air.  But what helps the most is breathing and sinking into the arms of God and letting God know everything we are experiencing and allowing God to take care of all of it.
I am so blessed to have people in my life and in both of my congregations who remind me of this lesson continually and embody it most of the time--sometimes we are better at seeing the needs in others than in ourselves.
Today, I thank you God for all those who have prayed for me, talked to me, brought me food, medicine, taken me to doctors and churches, called me, wrote emails and facebook posts and sent cards, lifted me up when I was down and were the tangible living presence of Christ to me.
Yes, Easter has come!

God blesses us in so many different ways......today was a great example for me.
We had a MAGNIFICENT day of weather here---a May day in the middle of March.
My daffodils are blooming and look so beautiful.
Bible study was fun and interesting and energizing.
I had a great lunch with some volunteers at the church...good food and good conversation.
My dog welcomed me home with extra vigor today and he and I sat outside early this evening and enjoyed the world around us.
I'm reading 2 challenging books and listening to a healing book on CD.
I was able to get quite a bit accomplished work-wise and to talk to some folks who haven't been feeling well and who are now doing much better.
See---to me, all of those are blessings from God.  And I didn't even list all of them.
Have you ever kept a gratitude journal or a blessing book?
I think, sometimes, we don't even see the blessings around us unless we look intentionally at the world and the people in our lives.
So.....try it.  Look for blessings.  Look for good things.  Look for God.
I can promise you will be amazed and grateful!

Thoughts of Spring

Green....
Emerging...
Hope.

Dreaming....
Goals...
New Life.

What needs to die so that something new may live?
What needs to live that is now just lying in wait?

God...
Christ...
Spirit....
Infinite Grace,
Infinite Possibilities.

Well, Don't You Think You're Something Special

I was in one of the larger medical buildings in Peoria.  Lots of different offices and several floors.  When I arrived, there were several folks being helped out of an accessible bus and heading for the elevators.  Some of them seemed to have physical difficulties--even in wheel chairs.  Some of them seemed to have developmental challenges.  One young man kept punching the elevator buttons over and over and over and laughing so gleefully as he did.  
A man, not related to the group, walked up and said in a very harsh voice, "Stop that!!"
The boy stopped, put his head down and began to cry.
I looked at the man who was looking at the folks with disdain and revulsion and I just could not stop myself....I said, "Are you a Christian?"
He said, quite surprised, "What?!?"
I said, "Are you a Christian?"
He said, "Well, not that it is any of your business, but yes."
I said, "How surprising!  Everything you've done so far would indicate that you are not.  The way you look at these folks, treat them, and talk to me certainly doesn't sound like anything I've ever read Jesus do in the scriptures."
The elevator opened and the man pushed past the folks and got in the elevator---not allowing ANY one else join him and said, "Well don't you just think you're something special?!!!" and made sure the elevator doors closed.
By this time one of the staff or volunteers had come in and asked what happened and the young man that had been playing with the elevator buttons looked right at the two of us with a great big grin and said, "Well the mean 'ol devil came in this building but the angel lady wouldn't let him be mean and so he went off to look for somebody else to be mean to!!"
Ok....so.........yes, it was a good day!
But in answer to the man's question:  No, I don't think I'm something special---but I did think those folks were pretty special...God's precious creations...beautiful as they are.