Gift Giving

If November can be said to be a month of Thanksgiving – December is a Season of Giving.  We begin preparing our lists and checking them twice (maybe we’ve been doing so already?) trying to figure out exactly what we’re going to give @SoandSo - -  (trying to determine what we can afford to give @SoandSo.) We are invested within this Season of Giving.

Think back on your years of gift giving:  What has been the best gift you’ve given? What giving opportunity have you experienced that brought forth the most joy, greatest amount of peace, evoked deepest sense of hope, and cultivated meaningful life?  Was it something that easily broke? Was it something that lost appeal with the draining of the batteries; was it a gift that lost its appeal as it lost its shine or an item that has survived in it’s original packaging and now awaits its place in a rummage sale? Probably not.

Most likely, the giving that stands out in your memory is that which held a lasting permanence by nature or symbolizes that permanence. The gift given may have been loved as the velveteen rabbit was loved.  It may have been an instrument they’re still playing 15 years later. Could it be a book whose pages and cover from years of use are tattered and warn?  Maybe you gave a gift that pushed the edge of creativity and imagination – that opened doors to insight and windows to possibilities.  Very likely the giving you remember is that which has journeyed with the recipient, becoming part of who they are.

The best gifts are those that enhance, add, build-up, open up, and/or allow for a fuller expression of who we are. And for this reason, the Season of Giving centers on God’s gift of Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, and Life all wrapped up in swaddling clothes lying in the manger. This gift of God in the Christ-child sets us (humankind) free from a past that in no way defines who we are. God’s giving stands us on firm foundation, even in the midst of the unsettled and opens to us a healing understanding of value and worth.

As you contemplate your gift-giving lists this year, I invite you to consider giving that which is lasting: a gift that uplifts human dignity and honor; that offers release and liberty into a world captivated by material acquisition.  And as you are busily checking your lists twice, consider how a gift of yourself might lend itself toward your 2012 new years resolutions. Those with whom you share yourself will be be most appreciative and thankful. 

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. 

Existing generously

"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."

Psalm 24:1 & 1 Corinthians 10:26

To you all, God’s beloved of 1^st Presbyterian of Phoenix, called to be God’s holy People.  Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.                                         (Romans 1: 7 adpt.)

In seasons past, you have found a copy of a budget accompanying the yearly ‘Stewardship Letter.’  Using this document, you’ve been asked to consider the financial needs of 1^st Presbyterian Church of Phoenix as you made your financial plans and commitments for the coming year, and you’ve been encouraged to give generously.  This year, anticipating 2012, you are invited to consider something quite different: your own particular needs.

This invitation is not intended to be an exercise to assess how much you’ll be able to give the church, whether the particular financial situation you face at home can be flexed to free up some additional financial contributions, or whether the increased expenses and decreased income translates to less contribution in the offering plate for 2012.  It is intended to be a reflection, a meditation, a prayerful consideration of your needs: your need to be generous.

There are many reasons why we long to be generous; there are just as many (if not more) ways that exemplify generosity.  We can generously share our time; we generously use the talents, gifts, skills, and abilities with which we have been blessed, and all for the greater glory of God. We can (and do) generously support medical research, charity organizations, philanthropic causes, the person standing on the street corner. We can (and do) give to those organizations and causes that impact our lives, help make us better, seek to make the world a better place to live.  We are generous so that people whose lives have been uprooted by tragedy need not be swallowed up by despair; we are generous so others will know they are not alone. We are a generous people, and the truth is, generosity feels good.

Why does generosity feel so good?  Because that’s the way we’re internally hard-wired.  In creating humanity in God’s own image, God imbued humanity with the best of the Divine’s traits: the capacity to Love, a willingness to be in relation with others, and desire to do all things with a generous spirit.

Another way of speaking about our purpose is to imagine a cup.  The intent of cup is not simply to be full, where it may sit on a table or on a shelf with contents near to spilling over the rim, but to be filled, and then drained, to be filled, and once more drained with trusting anticipation of being filled yet again. That is the intent and purpose of a cup.

Similarly, God blesses generously; God fills to overflowing, not that we should ever be satisfied or content with just being full, but that we should be fulfilled in living into our purpose of allowing God’s abundance to joyfully flow through our God-created lives.  It is a joy rendering to God from the abundance that God has given us.

In this season of giving thanks for the promise of Life that God shares, prayerfully consider the joy with which you will share God’s blessings in the coming year and into the years to come.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:13

Now Thank We All our God

November is a month that rings of thankfulness; a time that draws us to name that for which we are thankful and those for whom, having known, we feel blessed. Indeed, the month of Thanksgiving begins in celebration of those who have gone before, having lived faithfully, served graciously, and shared generously; this is All Saints Day: November 1.

The feast of All Saints achieved great prominence in the ninth century, in the reign of the Byzantine Emperor, Leo VI "the Wise" (886–911). His wife, Empress Theophano—commemorated on December 16—lived a devout life. After her death in 893, her husband built a church, intending to dedicate it to her. When he was forbidden to do so, he decided to dedicate it to "All Saints," so that if his wife were in fact one of the righteous, she would also be honored whenever the feast was celebrated. – [Wikipedia]

Who do we wish to be honored in this celebration of the Saints? As we think on the church, the congregation, the building, the people and ministry – for whom can we give thanks for their commitment and dedication to faithfully sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

 For those willing to risk the chartering of 1^st Presbyterian Church of Phoenix and those whose ongoing support saw the construction of the current building, for those who have given countless hours teaching Sunday school and those who have joyfully served at numberless potlucks and coffee hours, and sang in the choir and lead worship; we lift in prayer the memories those who have prayerfully shaped the congregational life of 1^st Phoenix – from worship and fellowship to the outreach and mission; for their steadfast faithfulness in their use and maintenance of this facility; for those who have served as Elders (now referred to as Ruling elders in our new Form of Government -nFoG) prayerfully discerning where and how God’s spirit is giving shape to this congregation, for those Deacons who have faithfully sat with those in need faithfully tending to the down-trod and broken hearted; for the pastors (now referred to as Teaching Elders under nFog), and for the many, many, many faithful members who have given of their time, their talents – who have given from the depths of their very selves:  For all of these people who have come before, paved the ground and smoothed the rough places, who have laid the foundations encouraging us to imagine, dream and discern what ministries God is calling us into, we lift prayers of thanksgiving and gratitude.

One day, each of us hope to enter into this litany of those remembered; and so it is also appropriate to lift in prayer those who will come after us – hopeful that the work we’ve done, the commitments, the abundant gifts of time, talent and treasures God shares through the lives we live might prayerfully, faithfully, spiritually empower generations of the faithful to follow how they feel God leading them to be the Body of Christ for their time. In the hope of passing on the blessings with which we have been blessed, let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

May you have a blessed season of Thanksgiving. 

Swimming (upstream, downstream, cross-stream) Part I

Contrary to what may seem like widespread knowledge - - Swimming is NOT natural. Human beings are poorly designed aquatic beings: the shape of our faces puts noses in the least advantageous location, while our feet may function adequately to paddle around and our arms may learn a more functional manner of propulsion - we are not designed to live our lives in the water. (Lets all just agree that Michael Phelps is a freak and move on from there, k?)

And yet we swim? why is that?

Watching 'Oceans' the other day - I watched the sea turtles flip/flop their way down the beach toward the surf - of the 1000s that started out, the one that made it (at least on film) flopped instinctively into the water and dove for safety. Nobody had to teach him, nobody was there to guide, encourage, cajole her/him into the water. Water was life - Water was safety - Water is survival.

I watched the mamma seal coaching her pup toward the hole in the ice. Once there, the pup stuck her head into the water, looked around, the mamma blew a little at her - and she slid in - and under the ice. No sputtering panic and arms flailing to wipe the water out of its face; no gasping, no dear-in-the-headlights look (seal-in-the-shark-mouth?) at discovering the new-found sensation of complete submersion. The mamma coached, encouraged, but deep down the pup knew (was genetically programmed) what to do. Hold your breath and swim.

Humans? Not so much. Sure, there are Mamma/Baby swim classes where the infants learn to play, hold breath, swim, etc with the close supervision of their parent, but with the vast number of pool drownings each year by infant/toddlers, I'm drawn way wide of the speculation that presumes swimming to be a natural human enterprise. After teaching swim lessons for 5 years, my experience tells me that swimming is oh so NOT a natural human endeavor.

Fear and Water go hand in hand, like closets and claustrophobia. But I can testify, not simply from an observational experience, but from an experiential experience. I've been to the mountain top that is the pool slide and I have looked down from those lofty places and have had to walk myself down the ladder for fear of what lay at the bottom. I've been to the tippy top of the high dive, scooted out toward the terminal end of the springy board, only to have to balance my way back on wobbly knees toward the safety of the hand-rail, and then force my way down the ladder past the line of would-be leapers, like a salmon swimming downstream.

I know those fears, but I also can say I have overcome those fears. They have not forever claimed me and I've been to those mountain-tops and have flung myself with abandon from those lofty places (although I still firmly believe that the human being's feet were never NEVER meant to swap orientation with one's head - but that's another story). As I've been to the tippy top, I've been to the very bottom (of the pool, that is) - I've taught the very basic beginner swim class where the greatest challenge the student overcame was putting her face in the water and blowing bubbles - and I cheered her on. I've patiently tread water in freezing cold water (such is an outdoor pool in a small North Idaho logging town in June) giving instructions to the lifesaving class. I've hunkered down (in attempt to keep my shoulders submerged in water that's warmer than the air), time and again teaching/instructing/waiting for that moment when the idea of floating becomes a reality - and lights come on - and doors open up - and the possibility of really SWIMMING begins to take root.

Now, I will admit - there is joy to be had with the more advanced classes - those who know all the basics. Standing on the deck giving instructions, helping give 'proper' shape to the motion of their arms and legs - providing encouragement to what they already know, that being, the ability to trust in the water. But I found more joy and excitement, a greater sense of pride and accomplishment having walked (swum) with a non-swimmer into and through this advanced stage. Maybe someone can sympathize, empathize, or rationalize this from their own experience. IDK.

But the greatest, GREATEST - hands down - biggest challenge to meet is an adult non-swimmer who had decided he/she wants to become a swimmer. Friends, this is where a lifetime of fear and anxieties come back full force - everything that's ever been cause for fearing the water weighs itself into the limbs of the wanna-be swimmer, preventing them from the very basic, and yet so necessary skill of floating. Everything they've been told about themself and what they can and can not do - everything they've told themself about what they can and cannot do -every fear of what might happen, could happen, or most certainly will happen in that 4ft of water plagues their mind and settles into their heels, rooting their feet into the bottom of the pool; they are incapable of exercising even the most basic practices of trusting in the water (ie floating) until the burden and weight of the years of fears are in someway addressed. The question is how? when? Will this happen?

Now, as tempting as it may be to focus my frustration of NOT being able to make them float (let alone swim) on THEM; as tempting as it may be for me to blame them for being afraid - how compassionate is that? How patient and kind is that? How loving is that? How responsible are they for their fears? How much responsibility have they taken for their fears, for the messages about themself they've been receiving over a lifetime? A trusting relationship cannot be built on a bed of underlying fears.

Non swimming adults can and do learn to swim; maybe not as adeptly as their younger counterparts, maybe not as fluently and freely as they might have in a previous age - but they do, and can take great joy in the places this new found freedom will take them.

Swimming is no more an innately human endeavor than living a life of faith is. True - humanity is created in the image of God and our souls are most at rest we find full rest in the one who created us. But a lifetime of perceptions, mis-perceptions, self-evaluations revealing inadequacy; leaders, friends, family preying on those inadequacies. This all creates an atmosphere where folks are fearful of stepping outside the norms, out of bounds for fear they'll be chastised, ridiculed, and mocked or worse, outcast. How to swim with a population of people plagued by fears? Patient, persistent, presence; realizing that their fears and anxieties neither define me, nor describe me but also realizing that in swimming with them, I will better understand the nature of fear and of their fears - and maybe some of my own.

(to be continued)

Lord, Teach us to Pray

Lord, teach us to pray! was the request, petition, the plea from Jesus’ disciples (Luke 11:1).

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us, each day, our daily bread. And forgive our sins, in the say manner that we, ourselves, forgive everyone indebted to us.

And bring us not to the time of trial.”

This very familiar prayer, found in both Matthew and Luke, though in varying forms, has been foundational for many Christians in our developing prayer life. If we’ve not been taught directly the words of this prayer, we certainly have ample opportunity to hear them recited each week in Sunday worship service; by nothing else, sheer repetition itself provides for a well-worn path that ingrains these words into our brain, and at the start of ‘Our Father . . .” many of us are capable of following along, almost without thinking about it. But, Jesus’ instruction is not limited to the ‘what’ to pray, but extends to the ‘how’ and even to the ‘why.’

The opening stanza, in addition to paying God the proper respect for being GOD, it affirms that ‘we’ are not God. In praying these words, we acknowledge that the order of this world, this cosmos, this culture and community lack a functional expression of God’s hopes, God’s intent, God’s Will in our life; “Your Will be done . . .”

As the Body of Christ, praying weekly, daily, each moment – faithful brothers and sisters lift the petition – “Give us, each day, daily bread . . .” and in doing so, the prayer is for our daily basic, human needs to be filled; yet how many across this world, this cosmos, this culture and community suffer not only a lack of food, but an absence of human contact, a shortage of dignity, deplorable living situations, dearth of meaningful purpose and guilt and shame compounded by a want of forgiveness as well. ‘Why is this’ we wonder silently (or maybe not so silently).

The abundance of basic daily sufficiency, from food to forgiveness, is the tangible expression of God’s Will and the Divine Kingdom we earnestly pray for week after week, day after day, moment by moment. Why does God not answer: Is God not listening? Or are we not listening?

The strength of faith, the power of our convictions as the Body of Christ is that this prayer is not a list of hopes we offer up to God for God to attend to, if God so chooses; but by Jesus’ own words to his followers, comprises the fullness of what God is doing to provide Life for the lifeless, to shine light on those living in darkness. Do we not see it? Can we not sense it? Watch for it; wait for it; expect it.

Jesus goes on in the 11^th chapter of Luke’s Gospel to explain that the active part of prayer is NOT just in the petitioning (vs. 9). Prayer is not a passive activity we engage in to make our wishes known to God, but is coupled to action: seek and knock. Now, this activity is not a blind search for something in a haystack; we’ve been told what is good, what is right, what is God’s will – (providing for the abundance of daily sufficiency may also be expressed “Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly “(Micah 6: 8]): God answers our prayer - - how vested are we in seeking out the answers, knocking on the doors of possibilities? And how open are we to walking through the doors that present themselves, trusting that God has already provided for Life (abundant daily sufficiency) for all? Do we see it? Will we sense it? Watch for it; wait for it; expect it.

Here in this part of the Body of Christ, our prayers are for life, vibrancy, and a faithful and meaningful purpose here in Phoenix, Oregon. I firmly believe that God has plan, a hope, and a will for 1^st Presbyterian Church of Phoenix. It’s not something that we have to plan out and offer up for Divine approval but rather accept it by living into God’s Will for this community, faithfully seeking-out every expression of God’s kingdom here in this part of the cosmos. Doing so will entail joyfully and faithfully listening for God’s guidance, in all circumstances- from the seemingly large and grandiose to the mistakenly small and mundane. Toward that end, your Session hopes to be more transparent as to what the needs of our congregation are.

The filters in our furnace are in need of being changed. While this may seem like a relatively small duty to perform, what’s needed is not simply a person to change the filters one time, but for the means for them to be changed on a consistent basis. Whether this is one person who routinely checks and changes the filters, or one person who schedules different persons to change the filters, the HOW this monthly maintenance happens is less important than THAT it happens. And when we consider that furnace failure will amount to $10-15K in replacement costs – suddenly this becomes of even greater importance. How has God provided for this aspect of our ministry to be accomplished at 1^st Presbyterian Church of Phoenix?

Who prayerfully discerns the answer to this, and many other questions facing our congregation? Structurally this falls to your session, but over the past many years, energies and persons ablity to commit to serving this function have waned – leaving the bulk of the prayerful consideration and work to reside on fewer and fewer people. We face a crisis of leadership in that for 2012, we have no returning elders to sit on the Session of 1^st Presbyterian Church. I believe God is providing the course through this crisis, but the congregation must prayerfully commit to searching out and discovering this pathway and support those who will walk through the doors of possibility. It will be through faithful commitment and loving support that we will come to know in greater ways the blessing of Life God holds for 1^st Presbyterian Church of Phoenix.

Weeds - Weeds everywhere - and not a drop of roundup

Weeds - - everybody’s got them; and nobody likes them. They disturb site-lines; visually muddy-up an otherwise pristine-green lawn; and can be painful to step on.

I spent a bit of time over vacation (and in the early morning hours) pulling weeds in the back yard. It’s been on my mind. Also, during my vacation time, Jesus parable about the ‘Wheat and the Tares’ came round in the lectionary (Matthew 13: 24-43) – and I missed preaching on it. So, for these reasons, I’m now taking the opportunity here/now to talk about weeds- or rather, the eradication of weeds.

In the parable, the workers’ primary concern is removing the offending vegetation – and rightfully so. The question becomes: What is the most beneficial means of getting rid of weeds? The workers’ suggestion of just ripping all the weeds out of the ground was tempered with the farmer’s concern for the healthy, intended fruit growing alongside the weeds. How do we go about eliminating the weeds in our fields all the while cultivating and nurturing the good things growing in our midst?

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, could easily talk about desires of self-indulgence, sexual vice, antagonisms, rivalry, jealousy impurity, bad temper quarrels, factions, malice, and drunkenness (Gal. 5: 17-20) as weeds, even as he speaks about the fruits of the Spirit (those things we want to encourage and cultivate: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, and self-control). How to remove and eradicate the former (weeds) without disrupting the growth and flourishing of the later (good fruits)? Upon this, one can spend an eternity in prayer and meditation.

A couple years ago, the backyard at the manse was nothing more than a collection of weeds; the large maple tree, with its canopy shading much (most) of the backyard, prevented anything but the sparsest of grass to grow. The long-overdue removal of this tree caused an abundance of bright sunshine to warm the readily available fresh ground; weeds found a footing and went wild. These past couple of years, we’ve taken to address the presence of these weeds for the unsightly, unkempt state they are. But how?

We could have gone the Round-Up method – kill everything and start over - That seemed a bit harsh We could have gone through with a shovel and dug out each of the weeds. That’s a lotta ground and a whole lotta weeds and a whole lotta time bent over. We, instead, opted to nurture the good, healthy grass/lawn that’s growing. As the lawn has gotten thicker, greener, healthier- the weeds have found less and less ground where they can take root.

Now, it’s taken some hard work. Into this space, we’ve cut some new flower beds and a raised garden area; we’ve had to keep the weeds (and grasses) from growing here. We installed a dividing fence to keep the dog out of the garden.We have spent time bent over, pulling weeds; we’ve had to get water, consistently, on the lawn (and garden). This will be a process that never ends (cause there will always be weeds), but the healthier the yard is maintained, the fewer issues we have with weeds.

A similar dynamic can be seen in covenant communities; where healthy evidence of the Fruits of the Spirit flourish (or are being cultivated), the weedy evidence of our sinful nature is less apt to find a roothold.

Truthfully, I see this here at 1^st Presbyterian Church; by bolstering, encouraging, nurturing the healthy fruits of the Spirit, those that are self-giving, I hope we are creating an environment, inhospitable for those weedy fruits of the self-indulgent variety. Will we ever be completely devoid of these ‘weeds’? No, but being aware of how to better control them, we’re less apt to be controlled by them. And we can then feel all the more free to focus on the luscious growth of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Life in the meddle

I've been drawn this week to the Acts 17 passage from last week (6th sunday of Easter.) Why?? may have something to do with me being out of the pulpit last sunday and not having the opportunity to wrestle with it, or some simple nudging of the Spirit, or (insert 3rd rail here.)

Whatever the reason, it's found its way into the liturgy and as a call to worship/proclaimation leading us into the worship service. Not sure how it will function that way - but we'll just have to see now, won't we.

As I glanced through the various section Feasting on the Word has to offer on this particular pericope, I settled into the 'Pastoral Perspective' in hopes of gleaning some insights into this narrative of Paul addressing the people of Athens.

Rick Mixon (the author of this section) lifted up some words and perspectives from William Willimon that applauds Paul's ability, willingness to address this audience at the place where they reside, in all their uncertainty and anxiety.

Willimon writes: "The church, rather than standing back from pagan religiosity, pointing our fingers in righteous indignation, should, like Paul in Athens, minister to their searching."

It struck me that if the church, rather than stepping back from the polarized religiosity, pointing our fingers in self-righteous indignation - what if we were able to (what if I were willing to) reach out to those - to engage the "them" in their search for what is true, what is honorable, what is just. Maybe if we (I) were able to do as Paul did for those who are a part of what we define as 'The Body of Christ' - maybe there'd be a greater prophetic witness to those who yet find themself apart from the Body of Christ.

Peace,

Small Steps - - HUGE Successes

What are the congregational sages of the day saying about the hopes and possibilities for churches in this 21^st Century? Don’t know about all of them, but Anthony Robinson, a minister in the United Church of Christ, preacher, teacher, and nationally renowned church consultant has words of hope for what the church, the body of Christ can do – and be in these changing and challenging times.

This past weekend I travelled to First Presbyterian Church of Vancouver, WA for this year’s Cascades Presbytery Leadership Fair. I attended to offer perspective on the Community Kitchen being housed bi-monthly within the walls of 1^st PC Phoenix. As part of a 3 person panel (one of which has been working with a church’s community kitchen for the past 5 years, another who began serving meals as part of the hospitality their congregation offers nightly as a warming center for homeless families) I was able to, not only share some thoughts, but to hear some perspectives on not only the ‘Why’ questions, but the ‘what’ the ‘how’ and entertain some ‘what if’ questions.

We did not have as many participants in our workshop as we’d had signed up – but that’s okay, as I’m sure those who skipped out, did so to attend the workshop offered by the event’s keynote speaker, Tony Robinson. (I’d thought myself that I’d like to sit in on his presentation – but in the morning I’d signed up for a discussion on the issues/dynamics in Israel/Palestine. Very thought provoking in its own right.)

But I did get to hear the keynote speaker offer challenging, yet hope-filled, words of encouragement. Challenging – in some of the anecdotes he shared about travels around these United States congregations. In one locale (Minnesota), he told of a conversation that came out of a series of interviews with both longtime members and members new to the faith. One of the new believers shared something of a concern she felt. When she started attending, she heard about prayer, and having experienced and encountered God – but when she asked one of the longtime members about his faith/prayer life, she said, ‘you’d have thought I’d asked him about his sex life’ (to paraphrase). One of the struggles, in which mainline churches may have become entangled, is the misperception that ‘faith’ is private; it may be personal, but far from private. This misperception has lead to a growing inability to speak of the deeply spiritual in ways that allow their faith, their sense of the divine to pass to the next generation of believer.

The good news is that God is sovereign and is working, even though it may not be how we envision. He shared this reflection on his website:

I was in Vancouver, Washington last weekend speaking at a Presbyterian event. I spent some time with people from a struggling and aging congregation in Portland, Oregon. The congregation had put on a block party for the neighborhood. But they felt it was a failure because it did not result in anyone coming from the neighborhood to their worship services. I told them that simply getting out of their building, getting to know the new neighbors, and having people come to the block party was a huge success--not at all a failure. Small steps.

Small steps, but HUGE successes – Successes we of 1^st PC Phoenix are joyfully stepping into.

Life in a fishbowl

Growing up as a preacher's kid, I was aware of the subtle differences between myself and my friends. It wasn't that I saw myself better than them; I did not see my family as somehow special because of who Dad was; the subtle difference was that my dad in his particular vocation had a platform from which comical, humorous, slightly embarrassing anecdotes of my childhood might find their way to anywhere from 75-125 pairs of ears (+or-). These 'sharings' were not a regular part of the Sunday morning proclamation, and there was never anything overly 'awkward' - (the most was when I heard how I got dizzy when I closed my eyes while praying). For the most part, no biggie - I'm not in therapy as a result of my life in the fishbowl of the pastor's family (although I may be abnormal in this fact.)

As scarred as I'm not from this, I am at least sympathetic to the dynamic possibilities of abusive over-sharing - that now as a preacher myself, I've (on occasion) come and apologized to my kids for some momentarily lapse of reason that might view the kids as simply one extended sermon illustration.

With that set-up, let me delve into the heart of my question: Having perused many blogs, websites, lurked on social media sites, read folks postings about their work, their hobbies, I've observed that an all too recurrent theme is one of 'family' - primarily the kids. Now, don't get me wrong; I'm all for sharing about the kids, the fun things they do and great people they are (and the better people they try to become); however, many (a majority?) of the writings, blogs, informative offerings recount less-than-flattering anecdotes about behavior, attitudes, temper-tantrums, potty training, etc.

My curiosity wonders what's the potential when, 5, 10, 15, 2 years from now, while 'googling' their name, a child (no particular child in mind) happens across the blog, the writing, the online diary of their life (though not of their making), and realizes that it's been shared with (not 75-125) millions dare I project billions of people, and that what's been shared is not simply the 'good stuff', the flattering, affirming, fun stuff - but the less than flattering anecdotes about behavior, attitudes, temper-tantrums, potty training etc. - How will the upcoming generation respond to this? Will they see it as an invasion of their privacy? Will they come back to us as parents and exclaim, "How could you?!" Will they subtly decide that the uber-connectivity their parents observed is not gonna work for them? Will they feel betrayed? Or will they be so accustomed to this newly minted social-media world that it won't faze them in the least?

I don't know; I can only speculate based on my own limited experience of life in a fishbowl?

What do you think?

The Blank Slate

New Year’s Eve, for much of American society (it seems), provides an opportunity, the venue (dare I say an excuse?) to take one particular aspect of their life – and commit to making a change for the better. It may be a physical change such as exercising, dieting, or being better attentive to one’s health conditions. Maybe it’s an attitudinal change that one seeks, and so we see the commitments to be nicer, to love more, to embody thankfulness and appreciation. There are innumerable New Year’s Resolutions that people take on each year.

Why do we choose the coming new year to embark on these life changing endeavors? There is something of a mystique to the coming of January 1, beyond that sense of pride when we correctly write the new year’s date on our checks. There’s something about the newness, the freshness, that sense of a clean slate on which we might write anew some small aspect of our lives. What newness, what fresh outlooks will you write in; what old habits, what outdated attitudes will you write out of this coming year?

But by saying ‘small aspect’ I certainly do not impart any lack of significance. For simply recognizing the gift this opportunity is (to be and do better) carries great significance. It signifies that the ‘who’ we have been does not define the ‘who’ we are to become. Upon that blank slate, upon which you may write in that new sense of who you are – who are you becoming? What criteria will we utilize in determining who we should become?

Whatever the rational for the desired change, whatever the criteria for who the ‘new me’ should be, the coming New Year provides both the motive and the opportunity, and there is safety in numbers to set out and try something new: ‘everybody’s doing it.’ But no sooner do we get started in fulfilling these ‘New Year Resolutions’ that the stark realities set in: as ‘everyone’ was beginning them – so ‘everyone’ is breaking them – and feeling resigned to live out the rest of the year thinking “Next year, I’ll do better.”

But, that attitude does not accurately reflect life in the Body of Christ, the Church. Because, we need not wait until a change of the calendar to step back into that mode of living for the New Life, we need not put off until the next major date change to consider how Life could be better, and we certainly don’t need to live the next 11 months with the burden of what we were incapable of completing.

We live, moment to moment, 24/7/365 trusting the grace of God to pick us up from our mis-steps, dust us off, and send us back out to live into Life – with the simple admonition – ‘Be faithful with what you’ve been given.’ So, what will you do with the blank slate you’ve been blessed with in this new year? In this new month? In this new moment? What acts and attitudes of faithfulness will you inscribe into this New Life God is creating you for?

Blessings and Peace be yours in all this gift of New Life affords for you.

Rev. Mike