Because This... 22nd edition

Welcome to the weekend... Because this is where I share my favorite photos and links frm the past week.

It’s early November. We don’t have all the time in the world between now and Christmas Day, but we’re a far cry from last minute. Craigslist Christmas

I learned this the hard way (the day a gecko almost touched my lady business), but Blessed doesn't really mean what we think it means, because most of the time when we use the word blessed what we really mean is pleased. #blessed

Because This... 20th Edition

Welcome to the end of the week... where I share my favorite photos and the links that have impacted me most:

So until we have the imagination and the wherewithal to bring God’s kingdom down to earth, I guess I will continue to keep one foot out the door, always looking for who isn’t here. I will of course continue to go to church most days, support it, love it, learn from it, push it, and prod it. But may I never fully belong there, may I never fully be satisfied. May I never, ever stop asking: who isn’t here? Why I Don't Go to Church

The church contacted me after the trip and asked how Maureen liked her new phone? I told them it was useless and said, “Don’t worry about it. I gave her mine.” Dear World: Let's Stop Giving Our Crap To The Poor

3 Books on My To Read List... (And 1 I'm In The Middle Of)

I absolutely love good book recommendations... and I'm collecting quite the list... So I'm sharing a few with you... You know to lighten the load  ;)

1. A Million Little Ways... I just recently started reading Emily Freeman's blog Chatting at The Sky... and I discovered that there is also an art course that Emily's father created to go along with her book...

2. Interupted ... I wanna be Jen Hatmaker when I grow up... Seriously!  I'm looking forward to this book because I am at a fork in my path... so I stay comfortable... or do I allow myself to be wrecked by Jesus?

3. The Rest of God... I first heard about this book  on the Art of Simple Podcast... and since I have some rather romantic thought about sabbath... I quickly added this book to my list.

 

And 1 book I'm in the middle of right now... 

Irresistible Revolution ... Shane Claiborne has been challenging me to engage in some deeper practices of love...and encouraging me to take a serious look at how I engage in God's economy.  Thanks to my friend Julie for lending it to me...

Now tell me... What's on your "to read" list?  What book is currently shaking you up?

Disclaimer: I have not read any of these books to the end (although I'm working on it)... this post contains affiliate links.

photo credit: Olaya B via photopin cc

The Darkness Lasts for The Night...

Warning:  This is the story of our first miscarriage... written because I think it's an important story and stories need to be shared...

See that fresh faced couple there?  They have no idea what the next two years are about to bring them...  In about 7 months they will have conceived their first baby... A surprise... But a welcome surprise... Even though they are still trying to figure out how to be married... How to be good Christians... How to navigate regular life.

On a January afternoon there was a faint second line on the stick... That loving young man called the 1-800 number on the box...to find out what exactly did that mean?  A line is a line... We were pregnant.

So the girl made a doctors appointment... And she took the doctor's test... Negative.
Off to the lab for blood work... And when she called my doctor's receptionist the next day she was told the results said negative... Not pregnant.

Until 5 minutes later... The receptionist called back to tell the girl she had given her the wrong results... Pregnant... They were pregnant!

With naive elation that young wife told the world... Parents and grandparents... Church folks... Grocery store clerks. The couple  floated on plans... And dreams.

The spotting started the next week... But that was ok because Google said some spotting is normal.
Then there was a little more blood... So they headed to the E.R.
The doctor told her she might be having a little miscarriage...

A Cure For The Crankies...

I'm having a cranky day... My husband made a comment to me that I didn't appreciate... We are out of milk... Sooo no coffee... My house feels cluttered and out of control... And I have been partying it up at late social functions the past two nights.  

So I'm doing what a dear friend told me that she did when she was in a "bad place"...I've made a nest of blankets and I'm curled up with my iPad... I open up my bible app and lo and behold the verse of the day: 

14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

Then I dig a little deeper... Change up the version: 

Hebrews 12:14The Message (MSG)

14-17 Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.

I am grateful that these words didn't come as a sucker punch... That they feel like life... Like God breathing into me and not forsaking me.  

I know that I am loved here in the depths of my cranky... Where nothing can be right... But I am not abandoned here... to rot in my own crappy selfish attitude.

My perspective is very quickly changed when I take my eyes off myself... 

photo credit: massdistraction via photopin cc

On Derek

For those of you who have not yet seen Derek... or have no idea what Derek is... It's a genuinely clever show about a brilliantly written character Derek... played and created by Ricky Gervais... be warned however it's not the sort of show for everyone.... there are some crude situations and humor scattered through out... 

I loves Derek though... He's this lovely sweet man who works in an "old folks" home.  He's good and he cares... Ricky Gervais (who is an atheist) even called the character "a bit Christ-like"  siting traits about Derek like "he forgives, he's tolerant, he's kind, brave, stands up for the underdog."

I find it very interesting that this is how a celebrity atheist sees Christ... When we His followers often don't.  Tolerant and stands up for the underdog?  My heart cries YES!  That is Jesus!  That is the guy I want to model my life after... but my head says where is He?  

 People who are the body of Jesus... Where are we?  Stop hiding behind our comfy lives and our excuses and come out and be brave.  

I'm talking to myself here as much as anyone...  I would say that I am quite tolerant...  Until I think back to the last time I got together with my girlfriends... and criticized some stranger's outfit at the grocery store.  As for standing up for the underdog... I'm often too caught up in measuring the risk... and the last time I actually talked to someone sitting on the sidewalk with his hat on the ground... it was so very awkward...I haven't attempted it again since.  

 People who are the body of Jesus... Where are we?  Stop hiding behind our comfy lives and our excuses and come out and be brave.  

An atheist sees who our Jesus is... shouldn't we?

The Work of Life...

I must be in my early thirties... people tell me that this soul searching, purpose hunting, self reinventing... is a symptom of that.

The books in my "to read" pile tell me that I am hungry for change... They are books about radical love... the kind that is inconvenient...  And it's not that I am looking to be inconvenienced... but I am looking to REALLY live.

There is a nagging fear in me that I might find excuses to stay wrapped up in my little cocoon... Where vulnerability is easy... but there is a competing fear that I will miss out... that what I do won't matter.

I want the work of my life to matter!!!

I thought growing pains would be left behind in my adolescent years... but it seems they move from my limbs to my heart...

Blessed

This isn't a post about how blessed I am... honestly it's a bit of a rant about other people announcing that they are so blessed...

I am more than agreeable that children are a blessing... I am really a fan of being grateful and giving thanks...

But my heart drops a bit and I feel my throat get tight when I read Facebook statuses like: "I am so blessed... Thank you God for my new boat."

And it's hard for me to think that God "provided" FB friend with a new boat because FB friend is somehow "endowed with divine favour and protection." (Google Dictionary) ... While a mother is grieving the loss of her infant... while a father is struggling to figure out how to put food on his table...  God is waving his magic wand and handing out boats to his "favorites"...

I hope not... and I hope I am not fooled into thinking that the things I have are intended for me... that somehow I am accumulating treasure for the purpose of showing off God's divine favour over me... and I pray that I don't commit an even bigger offense than burying my talents... by flaunting them on the computer screens of my fellow social networkers.
  photo credit: UweBKK (α 77 on ) via photopin cc

Hearing God...

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” 

― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Have you heard from God? How do you know it was God? Is each experience individual? Are some like Saul turned Paul?  Big and bold and very attention grabbing... While others experience the slightest nudge... leaving them wondering...

I have a dear friend who hears from God in threes... so it might look like this...
1. A stranger mentions something (in this case we will use the example: donate to the food bank)
2. A flyer will show up in her mail box about a food bank drive going on next week.
3. At church someone will relay a story of when they were in need and used the food bank.

And so my friend will obey and collect up canned goods and dry cereal and head to the food bank.  She has had quite a few experiences like this and trusts the system to be an accurate judge of whether or not she is hearing from God.

Another friend prays to see doors open or close to show her the path she should take...

Still others rely on whether or not they feel peace about the decision or not...

In my experience... I have heard a voice... on occasion the voice has said...have another baby... it told me to invite a homeless man we passed on a bridge to church... or the voice has told me...this house that you are pouring your heart and soul into is not yours... (I ignored that one and it caused me much grief).

I have had dreams... after praying to God to ask if my sister Julie was with Him, I had a series of dreams... in each dream she was progressively more well... and she was so vibrant and joyful... I believe the answer from God was yes.

There have been times when I have jumped into a situations where I didn't know where God was in the big picture... but upon looking back I could see divine fingerprints all over the place...Perhaps this is called a leap of faith.

So yesterday I pledged to be Open to ?... as a friend on facebook commented  "... to trust and lean rather than fidget and fret"  

And I will add to my thoughts... that God is good... and He makes himself known.

How have you heard from God?

 

Opening to ?

I am restless... blame it on a new school year... or recovering from surgery... too many unfinished house projects... whatever the reason I have a need to start something feeling.
I want to create... maybe come up with an amazing business idea... or completely organize my bedroom and revamp my wardrobe...
Alas wisdom ( and maybe the creeping in cynicism of age) have taught me that while these things are good... they are fleeting... they do not create wholeness... often they don't even satisfy enough to actually finish the project.
So I am going to choose waiting... and prayer... and healing...
I am going to choose surrender... divine inspiration... and to see the story that is so much bigger than me...

And looking back I will hopefully see the grand adventure of loving with abandon... and opening up my heart to embrace His gentle... careful... tender whispers.
 

Romantic Thoughts About Sabbath

I have a friend... a good friend... who seeks to follow Christ and teach her children to do the same... and she has started observing the Sabbath from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday.

So embracing my curiosity... I Googled Sabbath... and came across a website about Shabbat ... (the Jewish Sabbath).

My heart warmed as I read about such beautiful customs... I mean yes I was excited that there was blessed wine... but there is also a blessing on your children... Every week taking a snippet of time on a day set apart to lay hands on your beloved little ones and bless them.  Love it!

I also fell in love with the ritual of keeping the Challah (bread served at the Sabbath meal) covered as a lesson on preserving the feelings of our fellow human beings... (since the wine is blessed first the bread is covered so it doesn't feel lesser than).

While I probably will not become a strict observer of Shabbat weekly... I am considering incorporating some of these things into my own spiritual practices.

 

Fear Not... (a rambling)

Do not fear man (or woman)...
Do not fear rejection for who you love... who you seek to understand...

Love well... for God is love... and if my God is with me... whom then shall I fear?

I won't ever get it all right... I won't ever lose all of my prejudice... nor all of my pride for that matter... I want to but it creeps in... I suppose like a thief in the night...

But I hope to take a stand for love... I hope to speak for the speechless...

I pray to have eyes opened to those who are cold... naked... hungry... imprisoned... so I can invite them to my table...  so I can erase the "them" and create an us with community...

We can break the surface chit chat and be deep...  there is such a great reward in losing the fear.


 

As the List Gets Longer...

The judgments get smaller and the love gets deeper... because as more questions get added and your own uncertainty grows it becomes too time consuming to be nit picky about the details of others lives... as I hold less firmly in my fist it allows me to open my hand invitingly to allow the person in front of me to share their broken story with me...

So as the list of questions gets longer... so does the list of guests to converse about them with.
  photo credit: theloushe via photopin cc

Maundy Thursday

Last night we had communion as a family...and even thought it was at our kitchen table... in our cluttered unfinished house... it was soul nurturing.  There were questions like "Why can't we drink real blood?" and requests to drink all of the grape juice... and that was beautifully ok.

And then my favorite part of the evening... After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13:5

Delaney wanted to run away at first but then she got into it...

Meadow loved how everything smelled... the soap... the scented oil I rubbed on her feet afterward...

Hudson was as always the grand comedian in our family...  he went to bed saying his feet felt so cozy... 

I adore this time of being together... we touch and connect... we ask and answer questions... it was truly a Holy moment in the Scott house last night.

 

6 Things I Try to Do on Sundays

I was struck recently by a conversation at our Friday homeschool park day:

Mom 1: So your son can't make it to my son's birthday party?

Mom 2: It's on a Sunday... We will be with family.

Sundays... although we don't currently attend a church I try to set apart Sunday as a day different from other days... this is how I do that:

1. We kind of throw out routine... no school, no real set chores, eat when we are hungry, go with the flow.

2. I make space for quiet... and that might lead to anything from reading faith blogs... to reading the bible... to guilt free napping.

3. I will probably may stay in my pajamas all day...

4. Passing the Peace of Christ... usually on Facebook... you are welcome to pass it back...

5. Enjoy the sounds of children free to play... remember that they are fostering lifetime best friendships.

6. Be OK when Sunday is interrupted... we will be going to the birthday party mentioned above... and I have plans next Sunday for lunch and pedis with my mom, grandma and 4 year old.

Sunday... a day to be set apart... but not at the expense of relationships.
  photo credit: Andrew Morrell Photography via photopin cc

The Peace of Christ Be With You...

On Sunday I did something a little bit new... besides get up early and get cracking on a new morning routine...

In the middle of the afternoon... while my big kids were watching Pocahontas and the baby was (quite loudly) drifting off for her nap... I flipped to the "Midday Prayer" page in Common Prayer: A Liturgy For Ordinary Radicals...

And I fell in love with the words on the pages before me...

"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me bring love;..."

And at the end of it all Passing the Peace... but I am alone... who will I pass the peace to?

Facebook...

And I rejoiced as the number of likes grew... as people I don't know in real life commented... "And also with you."

This is a part of my community... brothers and sisters... some I know well... some I know a little and some I know not at all... passing the peace
photo credit: ms.donnalee / donna cleveland via photopin cc

Rest

I spent last Sunday resting... My pyjamas stayed on... I read blog posts... I ate Kraft Dinner... I breathed in the bliss of no obligations. 

I cherished the sound of my children playing... They lacked burden... They were care free.

I relaxed alongside Craig... In the calm of our family... Embracing the sweetness of just being us.

I celebrated this unusual and glorious Sabbath.

Here are a few blog posts that made my soul sing...
Rachel Held Evans Women of Valor Pearl Odema Tomlinson
Pohlkotte Press Gypsy King

My 2 Cents About Keeping Christ in Christmas

My husband affectionately called me a ____ disturber the other day... because I posted this as my Facebook status:

How many of my Christian friends are believers because someone wished you Merry Christmas instead of a Happy Holidays? 
(not a single person commented by the way... )

Honestly the push every year to "keep Christ in Christmas" as an attempt to salvage our "right" to wish people a Merry Christmas and force them to extend the same to us...drives me a little bonkers... because there are much better ways to honour Jesus' birth than to fight the retail industry for a Yuletide greeting... and yes I have a few ideas:

1.  Stop and chat with the Salvation Army workers with their giving kettles... toss some coins (or better yet bills) into the slot while you're at it.
2. Celebrate Hanukkah... we did this one year at a dear friend's house and it was seriously fun... plus Jesus was Jewish.
3. Give... anonymously... without fanfare... no tweets about it... no Facebook statuses... just you and God pouring love on others.
4. Tell and retell the story of Jesus birth to your children... read it from your bible to them... help them to be in awe of the miracle.
5. Respond to those "Have a Happy Holidays" with a sincere "thanks, you too"... that will probably go further than a snide "Merry Christmas."

How about you?  What are your ideas for actually keeping Christ in Christmas?

   photo credit: LivingOS via photopin cc

I Must Examine This...

May I confess something to you? I often (more often than not) skip over bible verses... not while I am reading the bible... but when I am reading blog posts... or Facebook statuses I just scroll right on past the scripture parts.

Part of this may be annoyance that folks just throw out a verse or two with no context... and yes I could go searching out the surrounding text myself... but I don't.

Another piece to the puzzle may be that I don't know where to turn for reliable resources to interpret scripture... I have held firmly to falsehood in the past and it is painful when you build your faith on the wrong rock and that rock crumbles...

So I ask... are you a scripture skipper? Do you have any fantastic bible study resources? How do you find meaning in the bible?

 

All Saints Day

Today is All Saints Day... it was explained at church on Sunday (Yes I went to church and yes I really loved it but I will write about that another time) that All Saints Day is a day to give thanks for all the saints before us who have done good... as well as all the saints among us doing good... I love it!

A celebration of what the people of God are doing well at... being a saint doesn't mean you are perfect... it means that you are trying your best to obey and live out what God has for you...

This morning I listened to a podcasted sermon from Tripp Fuller... I encourage you to do the same... and rejoice that sainthood is found in the little things of life...