THE OWL'S SONG

I am about to do something I have never done before. I'm about to show you pictures of my new purse and my new shoes. Cheesehead does it all the time and she gets terrific shoes! There are several reasons I have never posted pictures of shoes before, but I guess the main one is that this is my usual footwear. Well, I also have a black pair and a white pair.

The sensible me says that I should, considering my difficult beginning in life, rejoice that I can walk. I do, oh I truly do. I am also very glad to have this footwear. It is important that I not end up with terrible arthritis in my feet and that I walk with more stability and less pain than is possible otherwise. I love my braces and shoes, and I thank God for them. Of course.

Ahem.

The woman-who-loves shoes me says I hate these ugly monstrosities. The braces are hard plastic, which is not so bad in winter when I can put them on over a pair of thick socks, but is quite another thing is warm weather. (It is the one and only thing I dislike about warmer weather.) That woman also whines that it is impossible not to spoil the look of even the cutest or classiest outfit with those clumpy shoes. It's true. Shoes can change the entire look.

Once in a while, I rebel. I know I will pay for it later (especially if I do it more than once), but I do sometimes don still-sensible-and-flat-but-less-ugly footwear. Sigh. "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity," saith the Preacher. So at the Festival of Hommies next week I will usually be sensible and wear the shoes I should wear. But I will occasionally wear these. Had to show you.



And here is my new kinda red spring purse. The Rev Gals and Pals who will be attending also will be able to pick me out of the crowd, don't you think? :-D Or you suppose red purses will be the order of the day for clergywomen? Uh oh.

This is my husband, Ken (in blue), and his younger brother, Kevin. I took the picture two years ago at a picnic spot by California's Lake Isabella. Some of you who read this blog have known me for a long time, so you may remember the story of when Kevin, who we had not heard from in over 25 years, suddenly called us one night about ten years ago, I think. After a long conversation with Kevin, Ken and I cried, and we rejoiced, and we wondered, and we prayed, expressing surprise and gratitude to God that this brother who was lost had now been 'found."

Kevin was a handsome and sweet little boy who became a rebellious, drug-abusing teen. He lived with an older sister after Mom and Dad couldn't handle him anymore. And when his sister kicked him out of her house, he came to ours. There were good moments, but mostly it was not a pleasant time, and Kevin left with much anger and bitterness. Ken saw him once, several years later, at their sister's funeral, and then not again. Attempts to reconcile or even talk were fruitless. We eventually gave up--though we heard bits and pieces about him now and again. His life has been a rather tragic one, and eventually he ended up homeless for many years. He should never have survived, but (I think solely by God's grace) he did. We would have taken him in if he had been willing, but we never managed to contact him.

He is a diabetic, and after losing a leg, and suffering greatly, he gave his life to the keeping of God and he forgave us, and others. Thus, the phone call. We have been in touch, off and on, for several years now, and about four years ago he was able to come visit us. Two years ago we were finally able to visit him for a short time in California. Seeing him after all those years broke our hearts. What a change--he is frail and in almost constant pain, but he has once again become quite like the little boy we knew years ago. It is very strange. For quite some time he has been living in a situation I will not describe, and a few days ago he called to tell us he was at the end of his ability to survive without help. He will be coming here very soon to live with us. My mother's little "suite" will be Kevin's now, and we will see what comes. This will be challenging for all of us, but we never hesitated in asking him to come. I know this is a bit personal, but Kevin is not shy about sharing the story.

My mother is continuing to slowly deteriorate. I spent Mother's Day afternoon at the nursing home with her. It was very sad.

My brother in law is getting married! I wish I could meet his wife to be. I am happy for him, and he has been without his beloved Darlaine for a long time, considering the Alzheimer's. Somehow though, this sent me into a very sad place of missing my sister more than I have for a long time. It seems, perhaps, truly final now.

Since my "unresignation" things have been both very good and very bad at church. I am still waiting and praying to see what will come.

Ken is facing a physical problem which is potentially very serious, and it may require surgery. We will know more later this week.

I'm okay, and I'm looking forward to attending the Festival of Homiletics next week in Minneapolis. I will stay with the family, and I'll meet many of the Rev Gals and Pals, and I will hopefully return feeling like I will be a preaching dynamo. I'm still singing, which is always a good sign for me, but I'm feeling a bit topsy turvey, doncha know? ;-)

Life is so strange, sometimes.

This is the second sermon in the OASIS series.

The letter A in OASIS reminds us that we will be people who seek to "advance God's kingdom."

"Pentecost Quilt" by Linda Schmidt

I have not read it yet, but will do so later today. If you'd like to see it, here is a link. I will likely come back and comment after I read it, so feel free to do so if you would like.

Proclaiming Softly, pointed her blog's readers here to an article regarding what is being called an "Evangelical Manifesto." It is due to be released in Washington DC tomorrow. I'm interested in the document, and found this quote regarding political agendas on the "right" or the "left" thought provoking:

...faith loses its independence, Christians become 'useful idiots' for one political party or another, and the Christian faith becomes an ideology."

I find that I am avoiding using the word "evangelical" in much the same way that I long ago discontinued speaking of myself as a "fundamentalist" even though by some definitions I would qualify. Though I know many of my friends would disagree, I feel there is just too much emotional, political, and ideological baggage attached these days for me to be comfortable using the word "evangelical." That is sad, I think. And it is why, even though I don't yet know the contents of the manifesto, that I can at least agree with the authors that the word has lost it's meaning.

I wait with interest to see the contents, and to see who does and does not sign it. Wonder why no one asked my opinion? :-)

This quote, "Phil Burress, an Ohio activist who networks with national evangelical leaders, said that if high-profile evangelical leaders such as Dobson and Land don't support the document, 'it's like throwing a pebble in the ocean' and will carry no weight" makes steam come out of my ears.

A friend of mine said it. I repeated it after this correspondence and I'll repeat it again, "Doctor Dobson is not the Protestant Pope."

What do you think? Has "evangelical" lost it's meaning?

My sermon for May 4th, the first in a series based on a metaphor we are using to cast vision--an OASIS.

The first letter in OASIS, O, reminds us to OFFER HOPE.

We cannot offer water we do not have. If we are to truly be an "oasis," we must be people who have hope ourselves and are willing to offer it freely to others..

We think of "hope" as a kind of wishful thinking. I hope I get what I want for Christmas, get asked to the prom, lose weight, find my keys, and so on. The Bible speaks of a different kind of hope. The write of the Book of Hebrews says our faith is sure and our hope is certain.

Our world tells us otherwise.

Romans 5:1-5
Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God. This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ, who through our faith has brought us into that blessing of God's grace that we now enjoy. And we are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God's glory. We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. He gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.

Romans 8:22-25
For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)


Romans 8: 22-25 from The Message
All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

"Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all...As long as matters are hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength." G.K. Chesterton

Why Do We Need to “Hope in God”?

Because is is the only way to hope when things are hopeless. Only God is unchangeable, full of love and compassion and kindness. Discouragement, dryness and frustration often begin with a faulty sense of hope. A person who hopes in God will not be destroyed by hurts from people, because they are not looking to people for their source of satisfaction. If we are dry it may be because we need to place less of our trust in people, things or ourselves and more of our hope in the Lord, the one who promised to never leave or forsakes us.

Paul teaches us how to overcome feelings of tiredness, sadness or hopelessness when he writes, that we wait patiently and confidently!

Things Are Not Yet Right

The earth groans….we do too. Things are not yet made right. People who hope in God have the confident expectation that regardless of what happens, God will love us and sustain us--and some day it will be made right.

Perhaps Paul thought of what David wrote when he was tried and troubled, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God." (Psa. 42:11)

I once read a children’s story about a man sentenced to death. He obtained a reprieve by assuring the king he would teach his majesty’s horse to fly within the year--on the condition that if he did not succeed, he would be put to death at the end of the year. "Within a year," the man explained later, "the king may die, or I may die, or the horse may die. Furthermore, in a year, who knows? Maybe the horse will learn to fly."

Stuff Happens

When our hope is in the Lord we are not undone when things do not go our way. Paul in NT and David in OT abounded in hope despite their many trials, attacks and troubles. These men were not like some of us that quickly give into discouragement when faced with adversity. Hope is built upon a confident faith that the Spirit will help us look towards better things to come. Hope visualizes the blessings that come with new life through Christ. Placing our hope in God helps us base our expectation on all the characteristics of God instead of our circumstances or feelings. This is expressed in the hymn, "The Solid Rock." I sang that as my first "special" in church. I was about 11 and my knees knocked together. I was grateful they were concealed behind the pulpit! I loved the song then, and I love it now.

"My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.
On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand."*

Water for Our Spirits Brings Fruit in Our Lives

Jesus described himself as LIVING WATER. Paul remembered that our roots of faith reach an inexhaustible reservoir of Christ’s grace, love and hope. When a person is consistently drinking from Christ’s living waters they are not overcome by dry spells (and those will, inevitably, come).

David wrote that those we delighted in God’s words were “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." (Psalm 1:3) Ezekiel wrote, "By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing." (Ezek. 47:12)

Allow the Lord to help you yield a greater quantity and quality of spiritual fruit as you grow in your hope in God.

Suggestions

Would you like some suggestions about how to refresh your spirit in God? Here are some I find helpful:

Prayer. This includes both talking with God and taking time to become still and peaceful, seeking awareness of God’s presence.

Praise. It is not easy, but if you stop in the middle of despair and praise God, and I mean aloud,
you are making a conscious decision to hope in God.

Read scripture. You knew I would say that, didn’t you? We know it, but we often don’t do it. We turn on the TV, or we send an email, or we eat or any number of things to distract ourselves. The Psalms are especially good for refreshing your spirit.

Listen to music. Since the goal is to refresh ourselves in God, choose carefully what you are listening to. I love to play the works of Bach, a man who wrote music with the express intention of glorifying God. Perhaps you like hymns. Or you can sing along with praise music.

Choose. I mean make choices that are deliberate and positive. Choose to speak in an uplifting, positive manner. Choose words that are hopeful and encouraging. Avoid negative words like a poison. Sometimes you might even need to, as much as possible, avoid negative people.

Remember, attitude is everything. Choose a good attitude. Yes, you can.

There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them. Clare Boothe Luce.

Hopeless is Human, But Jesus Promises Refreshing

Only God gives hope when everything appears hopeless. When people become weary, sick or weak they tend to give up hope. Many are depressed, worried and gloomy. Others are overwhelmed, tired and lonely. Every one of us has experienced those things. It is part of being human.

Paul teaches us that the only way to remain hopeful is to develop a thirsty heart for Christ’s rivers of life. Paul knew what it was like to feel tired, ill and abused, but He wrote, "I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day." (2 Tim. 1:12)

Hope equips us for what lies ahead. The great apostle realized that no one is able to face the trials of life without hope – it is like a fresh drink of water.

Perhaps you are trying to quench your thirst with some other hope besides the Lord? Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied." (Matt. 5:8) Nothing else satisfies like Jesus. Turn your eyes and heart toward Him. Allow the Lord to turn your night to day, your gloom to gladness and your sorrow to singing. Ask the Lord to allow you to grow in your hunger and thirst for righteousness and hope.

A number of years ago researchers performed an experiment to see the effect hope has on those undergoing hardship. Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water. The researchers left one set in the water and found that within an hour they had all drowned. The other rats were periodically lifted out of the water and then returned. When that happened, the second set of rats swam for over 24 hours. Why? Not because they were given a rest, but because they suddenly had hope!

Those animals somehow hoped that if they could stay afloat just a little longer, someone would reach down and rescue them. If hope holds such power for unthinking rodents, what might it do for us?

Are you feeling hopeless? Are you willing to hope in God? Take a deep drink of God’s hope. At times we may have to wait until our hope is realized, but it is as sure as God’s Holy character and word.

* Edward Mote (1797-1874), "The Solid Rock," 1834:

I think I am looking forward to attending the Festival of Homiletics in May, because lately I've been reading about great sermons and great preachers.

Leonard Ravenhill said, “No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. … We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few pray-ers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers, but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere.”

I tend to be one of those who works to avoid failure rather than to gain success. I think I need some tweaking in that area. Nonetheless, that last line struck me rather powerfully. I think there is nothing more important in this world than being a person who is willing to agonize, pray, cling, wrestle, shed tears, live with passion, intercede, and fight for what is right and true and of lasting value.

Help me, God! I do not want to live as less than you created and called me to be!

Sally from Rev Gals & Pals has this to share today:

Part of the Ascension Day Scripture from Acts 11 contains this promise from Jesus;

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Then he was taken from their sight into the clouds, two angels appeared and instructed the probably bewildered disciples to go back to Jerusalem, where they began to wait and to pray for the gift Jesus had promised.

Prayer is a joy to some of us, and a chore to others, waiting likewise can be filled with anticipation or anxiety....

And the questions are:

1. So how do you wait and pray1. How do you pray best, alone or with others?

It depends on the circumstances. I like to pray different ways. I often walk and pray, finding that somehow that keeps my mind from drifting all over the place. It also helps to pray aloud, so I like to be alone (often in the church sanctuary) or in a place where I know I will not be heard by others. I love to pray with others too, however, and our weekly prayer gathering at church of 10 or 12 people is a great blessing in my life.

2. Do you enjoy the discipline of waiting, is it a time of anticipation or anxiety?

Participating in a yearly silent retreat has taught me the value of listening and being silent and waiting to hear the Spirit of God. I wish I could say that I easily enter into waiting and silence, but I don't. It takes time. And I'm also sad to say, if I am honest, that it is a time of anxiety all too often.

3. Is there a time when you have waited upon God for a specific promise?

Oh, about 100 times or so!

4. Do you prefer stillness or action?

I'm a Pentecostal. What do you think my answer will be? ;-) I prefer action, and I prefer movement, as I said above, but I have learned to value stillness in a way I did not only a few years ago.

5. If ( and this is slightly tongue in cheek) you were promised one gift spiritual or otherwise what would you choose to recieve?

Success. I do not mean in the sense of making money or becoming well-known (though that would be nice, let's face it) but I mean that the deepest longing of my heart is to fulfill whatever purpose God had in allowing me life in the first place. I was not supposed to live, then not supposed to be "okay" -- but God worked through so many ways to allow me to have a life, a ministry, health, and on and on. Click on the link if you want to read about it. Anyway, life is for a purpose. I believe that deeply. And I do not want to waste the gift of life.