1st Peter 5:6-11
Cast all your anxiety on Him, for He cares for you... Verse 7

I was sitting at my computer the day the wind was blowing so fiercely (Wednesday?) and happened to look up and out my front door window in time to see a bird go by. This wasn't a normal fly by. I think it must have started to fly, maybe off the roof, but for some reason flew into the wind. At least that's my guess. The wind blocked this effort and it looks like it simply tossed him eastward past my window, facing west, tail down, somewhat vertical. I don't know what the bird was thinking, but I know I would be in a panic, out of control, scared. But I have a feeling that the instincts of the bird would take over and it would somehow flip over, right itself, put the wings out and go with the flow so to speak until it could find shelter in a tree, bush, or building overhang to take a breath and bring its heart rate back to normal. Well, that's what I would need if I were a bird.
     But how often have we tried to fly into the wind... maybe into the Pentecost Holy Spirit, and go a direction that we can't or shouldn't go. We might get along for a bit, but the struggle eventually wears us out as one obstacle after another blows us wildly off course. We can feel disoriented, panic in the face of not being totally in control, still trying to go the way we want to go and life tosses backwards, sometimes with a gentle nudge that stops our movement and turns us around, sometimes, like the bird in the wind, in a more violent, forceful way. How many storms have we been trying to find our way through just in the last 3 months, thinking we are going the way we should, only to get slapped backwards. After awhile our wings and our souls can become very weary. We pray for a place of refuge to reorient ourselves, find peace, and figure out what is going on.
     Our refuge is in Jesus Christ. Our peace is in God the Creator. Psalm 46:10 reminds us, "Be still and know that I am God." We find ourselves constantly battling the storms of life, fighting circumstances, fighting people around us, fighting struggles within us, crying out out in deep despair and helplessness. We need to cast all our anxiety on Jesus, let God hold us in the palm of His hand, and instead of trying to go our own way, allow the wind of the Holy Spirit to simply carry where we need to go, guide us in the directions we need, give us wisdom, actions and words to handle the storm, problem, anxiety, relationship, feelings. We need to figure out a way, like a bird, to right ourselves and spread our wings and feel the power of God to carry us and give us not just peace, but rest. Psalm 121 reminds us that our help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:2)
     But it is often hard to do. It is hard to admit that we were going the wrong way, hard to let go of what paths we thought we needed to walk, hard to let go and let God. Sometimes its hard to even accept that we are worthy of Christ's love and think, "Who am I that Christ would care for me? I have screwed up, I haven't listened. I went the wrong way. I haven't trusted him to help me deal with it. I feel like God isn't going to help me with this, and why should my Lord?" But God loves you, Jesus loves you, faults and all, and wants you to cast your care on him, for his yoke is easy and his burden is light. (Matthew 11:30).
     Remember... when Jesus and his disciples were in the boat on the Sea of Galilee and a fierce storm came up, tossing them around, the disciples all panicked, but Jesus continued to sleep. Jesus could sleep the deep sleep that comes with the peace of knowing that you are in God's hands and all will be well, no matter dark the days seem or how strong the winds blow. They had the most fearful thoughts, their brains went to the worst possible scenario, and when they woke him in a panic he calmed the storm, the winds died down and Jesus said to them (hopefully in a gentle, chiding way), "Where is your faith?" (Luke 8:22-25)
    Are the winds and storms blowing in, around and through you? I think they are for all of us in this stressful time. Today Jesus wants to help calm the storm, slow down the fierce winds as they are calm today, give a chance to breathe, to think, to make course corrections if needed. A chance to show our trust in God by being still instead of flying fiercely into the wind, and know that God is God. "Where is your faith?"
   🎵🎶
Through it all, through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus, I've learned to trust in God.
Through it all, through it all, I've learned to depend upon God's word.

🎵🎶
Jesus calls us o'er the tumult of our life's wild, restless sea,
Day by day his sweet voice soundeth, saying "Christian, follow me."

8 Minutes and 46 Seconds
Take a deep breath, open your heart... and read Psalm 143

On average, humans breathe about 12 times a minute. It can be as much as 18, it can be less. Depends, of course on age, health, weight, activity, awake or sleeping. We do it without thinking. It is one of those autonomic activities that our miraculous brains just knows how to keep going without our thinking about it. Are you thinking about your breath right now, even as you read this? Probably not until I said something.
     I have myself gasped for air, wondered why breathing was coming so hard. Difficulty breathing was how they determined that I was allergic to codeine (pretty much wipes out a lot of pain killers) and also was one of my first signs of a heart problem. You see, the heart is another autonomic activity. The electrical systems are kept going by the brain and thankfully we don't have to think "beat, beat, beat." The heart, lungs and brain all work together in God's design and they do so until something gets in the way to interrupt their partnership. If you hold your breath your heart rate will go down, for a moment, but it can also puts a strain on your heart. If you can't breathe and can't get enough oxygen into your system, the heart and brain get thrown off their routine and pattern, and if it goes on, it will bring on a stroke, heart attack, or death.
     8 minutes and 46 seconds. Time for the average human being to inhale and exhale 105 times... if doing so easily. Not with someone's knee on your neck and pressure on you back. Breath is essential to life. It renews, it gives life, and at the end it is one last things to leave us... the brain stops functioning, so it tells the lungs to stop inhaling... and then the heart to stop beating. I've sat at many bedsides counting breaths, holding hands, watching the peaceful withdrawal of those breaths as they slowed. Usually it comes quite peacefully and a life withdraws into the hands of God.
    That's how it's supposed to happen.
     8 minutes and 46 seconds. At the end of the memorial service for George Floyd this afternoon they ended with folks standing for a moment of silence, but not just any moment... time to pray, time to reflect on what George went through, time to think about breath leaving, time also to think about the changes that must happen in our country, systemic changes, attitude changes, heart changes, listening changes, legislative changes. 8 minutes and 46 seconds. That's how long the silence was. Equal to the time it took for George Floyd's brain to stop receiving life-giving oxygenated blood and not know how to make his lungs function, which left his heart to stop. Not a heart attack that was chest-crushing massive and gone in a moment. 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
     I prayed, I thought about the senselessness of the violence... all of it... I thought about the hatred that still infests our country and the lack of true understanding of our racial bias and white privilege, even if you swear to God Almighty that you are not a racist. Our systems are, our comments often are, we just don't think about it because we haven't had to deal with it. I have never been followed around a store by a security guard while shopping. I have never been pulled over because I was guilty of driving while white. I have never worried about my son being shot simply because he is white.  Then I did one of the things they asked... think about George's last minutes. I held my breath. Only for a few moments. My brain went to times when I have felt trapped, claustrophobic, restrained. I have a deep seated fear of death by drowning ... even if I'm not in water... just not being able to breathe. And I had a flown blown anxiety attack. Had to walk outside, force myself to slow down my breathing, pray for help. Anxiety actually brings on more shortness of breath. And I sat down and cried.
    8 minutes and 46 seconds.... while the rest of the world was taking 105 breaths, they didn't even realize that the world was about to change forever. In 8 minutes and 46 seconds a spark would be ignited that has been a long time coming and will be the 8 minutes that history will look back upon. We will not, cannot be the same ever again. We must not take our breathing for granted... or our freedoms, or live in a sheltered world where we think that everyone is treated equally, because they often are not. We must work for, and pray for, God's life-giving breath to fill us all anew, strengthen us for the changes and work ahead, and also convict us of the unintended parts we have played in the past.
     What has happened in your life in the last 8 minutes and 46 seconds? How many heartbeats, how many breaths, how many smiles or frowns, how many music notes heard, winds felt on your cheek, how many times have you thought about God...about life... about death... about your safety. Don't take any of these things for granted. Take 8 minutes and 46 seconds to think about what you can do to take steps to make sure that these words are true: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." God has already ordained it... now it is up to us, after 244 years, work to make sure it is really true in our world. We are called (remember Micah?!) to work for justice... love kindness.... and walk humbly with our God... and to love others. Take 8 minutes and 46 seconds to earnestly pray. Set the alarm on your phone. If you think 20 seconds in worship seems long, you will find out just how long 8 minutes and 46 seconds can truly seem. And give thanks for the 100 breaths that you might take without thinking about it. And the injustice that happens... without you thinking about it.
     Amen

In Memory of Me
1st John 3:16-18

16 This is how we know love: Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 But if someone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but refuses to help—how can the love of God dwell in a person like that?

18 Little children, let’s not love with words or speech but with action and truth.

I don't like to mix national and church together. Y'all know I'm a strong advocate for separation of church and state and we are to be in the world but not of the world. But there are certain times of the year that Christians, and religious of all faiths, have something on their minds and hearts and we can't pretend that it isn't. Memorial Day is one of those times. 

Many of us visited cemeteries this last week to decorate them with beautiful flowers. Growing up that meant taking a big thermos of water and an empty glass mason jar or old pickle or mayo jar, a wire coat hanger and wire cutters, and bouquets of purple and white irises and fragrant lavender and white lilacs cut fresh from our yard. Often pink peonies as well. You placed filled the jar with water, did a fresh cut of the flowers at the grave as you put them in the water. Then dad would cut and bend wire to push in the ground to hold the jar in place. It took extra time, but it was a labor of love. We put flowers on the grave of my dad's brother Charleton (they called him Bill, I have no idea why except to avoid the confusion of having a Charles Sr, Charles Jr (my dad) and Charleton in one family). His body wasn't there. Just a marker by the WWII memorial at Riverside Cemetery, just like others who didn't come home. He was 5 years younger than Dad and followed him into the Navy during WWII. 

He also lost his life just short of his 20th birthday, shortly after writing to his big brother to tell him he had bought a ring for a special girl. I never heard Dad or Grandma mention that until they'd both passed and I was given an old letter from my Dad written to his uncle. I wish I'd known. I would have asked for more info... the name of the girl would have been nice. It's a mystery. The bigger mystery is... where is Charleton? You see, Charleton was one of those who volunteered.... you were never just assigned, you had to volunteer... to be on submarine duty. The worst indeed happened in 1945. The USS Kete left its position to go to a new assignment. It was just east of Japan and gave its last radio message before running silent until its new location, which it never arrived at. No one really knows where the Kete is, other than probably somewhere between Points A & B in the Pacific. Unless it strayed off course. Dad could never fully explain why Charleton chose submarine duty. Partly for the excitement (I'd be so claustrophobic and terrified I couldn't go a DAY, let alone long periods of time in a cramped sub, no windows, often submerged), partly for the higher pay. But Dad, with great pride would also say, "only the very bravest volunteered for sub duty. It was the most dangerous." He knew that Charleton (or Bill) wanted to do whatever it took to serve and wasn't afraid of the higher risks. Or at 18 or 19 just didn't think dying would actually happen. But he went. Dad and "Bill" ran into each other once after Bill enlisted. Literally looked up in port in Hawaii and saw each other on the sidewalk. That was the last time. My dad served on the Battleship USS Idaho (like Billie's dad, Bill) and it was there that he got the telegram from the Naval department, who, because he was on a battleship in a critical area would not allow him leave to go home to his mom. (before the Sullivan brothers rule)

Every Memorial Day I remember the service that my Dad, his brother, and my brother David (Air Force during Viet Nam war) were willing to offer. Every memorial Day I once again wonder, where is Charleton? Especially this year as I came across an article on a group that is dedicated to finding lost submarines, especially from WWII. They've found 4 or 5 so far. Anyway... they were all willing to serve, even if it meant laying down their life. And my dad and brother carried that mindset with them throughout their lives. They did their jobs to the best of their abilities. They helped others whenever they could. David as a federal police officer with the VA and Dad with Iowa Electric (now Alliant). Dad was one of the first on the scene after the Belmond tornado to begin shutting down gas lines for safety. My dad always made you feel better, just being around him (except for the time I backed his brand new car through the tight fitting garage door and scraped the side on the metal wheel guide of the garage door... but I digress) and he could always make you laugh when you needed it. They both lived their lives as they lived their military years, working hard at their jobs and giving to others, and loving their family beyond measure. 

So yes... I remember... and I hope, that in my living, I have made them proud to call me one of theirs. And when my end comes I will meet death and struggles with the same grit and dignity as they did... and someday maybe someone will put flowers on my grave, I will be next to them... and the uncle I never met... smiling down upon my family and friends, glad to know that they were remembering me. I hope that when I am gone, others will say that I didn't just talk about being a Christian, I loved and gave, and served, and made others feel better for my being here... and that I, like all my ancestors before me, lived my faith with action and truth. 

May ALL of you, as children of God, have people say the same of you. Amen.

Praise the Lord! Smell the Rain!

Psalm 147:1-11         Contemporary English Bible   (CEB)

1  Praise  the Lord! Because it is good to sing praise to our God! Because it is a pleasure to make beautiful praise!

2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem, gathering up Israel’s exiles.
3 God heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.
4 God counts the stars by number, giving each one a name.
5 Our Lord is great and so strong! God’s knowledge can’t be grasped!
6 The Lord helps the poor, but throws the wicked down on the dirt!

7 Sing to the Lord with thanks; sing praises to our God with a lyre!
8 God covers the skies with clouds; God makes rain for the earth; God makes the mountains sprout green grass.
9 God gives food to the animals— even to the baby ravens when they cry out.
10 God doesn’t prize the strength of a horse; God doesn’t treasure the legs of a runner.
11 No. The Lord treasures the people who honor him, the people who wait for his faithful love.

The italics are mine…. It’s the verse that I’m focusing on.

It has really been cloudy this week and the week ahead doesn’t look to be a whole lot sunnier, at least from a meteorology point of view. But we have had some brief glimpses of the sun, the warmth, the gentle breeze. And we have been lucky. Our rains have been fairly gentle. “Soakers” Ed Wilson calls them. Not damaging. Nourishing. Nourishing to the earth, nourishing for the worms and animals that depend on the puddles and raindrops for their hydration. Let’s face it, isn’t the smell of gentle rain, especially when it falls on newly mowed grass one of the best scents God created? For me it ranks right up there with new babies, lilacs, and cinnamon rolls or fresh baked bread. Praise the Lord!

Plus, all this soaker rains and almost perfect temps have done something else. I had to be on the highway a lot today. I can tell you that Iowa is lush with a wide variety of beautiful greens… fields starting to pop, trees, grass, bushes… someone said they thought Iowa looked a lot like Ireland right now it was so lush and green. Ireland is on my bucket list, but maybe I don’t have to travel too far to get an idea. I wonder if it has to do with the 17% decrease in air pollution around the world over the last 8 weeks while factories have had lower production and people have not had to commute to work and haven’t been able to travel as much.

The seasons are changing, summer is just around the corner. And yet our world hasn’t felt quite the same. There is still much to wonder about. Much keeping us apart. We are constantly reminded to stay 6’ apart. No hugging. No hand-shaking. And now we are also told that when we do come back together as a church we should not sing… so no SINGING praises to the Lord, but we can speak them, we can hear them in our hearts and minds as we listen to instrumental music and our heart can rejoice. The Lord will help us rebuild our lives together once again. Praise the Lord! Our God will nourish the earth with rain and nourish our souls with love. Praise the Lord! The Creator will not only bring about the lush green of spring and summer, but also the hope for a better future, a healing of the earth, but also a healing of the mind, body and spirit. Praise the Lord! An Amazing Divine Love will cover us as the clouds cover above and give us what we need… as the hymn says, “Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” Praise the Lord!

It has been a really hard 2.5 months. It could still be hard for a few months to come. But it has also been a time where we have learned about ourselves. What is important. What we really need. Where we are broken and in need of healing. How we can do things differently. How we feel about life, love, others, ourselves. We’ve discovered things about ourselves and discovered ways to help one another. We’ve discovered ways to allow others to help and love us. We’ve discovered what is truly important and how to give thanks.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

May the wind always be at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face,

May the rains fall soft upon your fields and, until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Amen

Home...Now what?

Now what? Was one of the comments at the end of Dr. Sharon Watkins sermon last Friday... and now that I'm home I'm feeling a bit of "Now what?" It was a great week. The final closing service and communion celebration was truly that... a celebration! WONDERFUL music from the Assembly Children's Choir as well as the world-traveled Indianapolis Children's Choir and the adult Assmbly Choir who sang with emmy-award winning Christian singer, Donald Lawrence and everyone was up on their feet waving their hands and clapping. Christian folk singer Carrie Newcomer shared beautiful music as well as the Assembly praise band under the wonderul, inspired and invigorating directorship of Bill Thomas. The talented Congan musician who played the Congo drum carved out of a huge log called us to worship again on Sunday and was followed by the rhythms of a Samoan praise band from a church in Indianapolis. I wanted to get a little video of one of Donald Lawrence's songs with the choir, but my camera batteries died and I didn't have replacements with me. DUH.
Connie and I left after the closing service and decided to drive straight back Sunday night. Her husband, a trucker for a major national trucking company was on his was TO Indianapolis and we were able to meet him in Bloomington, Illinois at a truck stop as he was heading south and we were heading north. Met their Spaniel, Taz, that rides along with him in the truck. Sweet, sweet dog. Got back to Vinton about midnight, by the time I unloaded my stuff from her car and loaded my own (good thing I wasn't flying and having to pay extra for extra weight for the stuff I brought home) it was 12:30 when I got on the road again for Stanhope. I got home about 3 a.m. this morning.
It's good to be home, good to see my son again, good to have Marshall back with his tail wagging that he missed me. But all the way back I was singing one of the final songs, "Revive Us" and praying that the energy I received in Indy would follow me home and revive my spirit... not just when around 6000 others praising and praying, which is easy... but when it's just me. Revive me for that which I have been called to do. Revive me from the depression and tiredness that seems to surround me in spite of my best efforts. I was revived in Indy... may God's spirit come SUDDENLY and often and zap me with a bolt of energy when I need it and for the work yet to come. I hope the "now what" is answered and I have the knowledge to hear it and the energy to do it. Revive us with your fire! Revive ME with your fire!

SUDDENLY!!!

Suddenly there was a loud noise from God like a mighty wind!!! Suddenly the angel appeared! Suddenly the waters parted! Suddenly.... the General Assembly was revived with the spirited words of Rev. Dr. Frank Thomas of the Mississippi Blvd. Christian Church of Memphis, TN and we were shouting and crying and waving our hands and standing and shouting Amen and Hallelujah! Suddenly, without warning is how God comes into our lives. It's been a glorious day at GA!
A resolution to change how resolutions, and how many issues, can be brought before the GA was hotly debated. Some felt they were trying to allow more time to truly delve into issues. Others thought they were trying to silence some voices and 'censor' what was discussed. Another resolution regarding our outreach in friendship to the people of all nations who are challenged, enslaved, in crisis, war. To pray for them as they prayed for the U.S. in 2001 and showed us solidarity in our grief. The resolution calls for us to light candles and pray for our brothers and sisters around the world every year on September 12... the day that the world held vigils, lit candles, and publicly prayed for all who died on 9/11. We also passed a HUGE change in the Order of Ministry, allowing licensed ministers to follow an ordination track of education without going to seminary.
I finished my second day of 'going green' workshops, and have some initial ideas to bring home and information to share.... but I told them that no way no how was this Iowa girl going to tell folks to grow less corn and feed cows green grains (alfalfa, etc) not corn so there's less methane.
All topped off with an amazing, roused off of our feet worship including inspiring music from the Assembly praise band, a praise band from New York, the youth assembly choir and the adult assembly choir, AND an amazing singer from Indiana and a liturgical dancer from Chicago. And I was moved to tears when ministers were asked to stand... new ministers and retired ministers went forward and the rest stood in place and then they asked everyone to put their hand on the shoulder of a minister near them while they prayed. A laying on of hands for all.
Tomorrow I can't wait to see what will happen with the closing worship and concert that is planned! Hallelujah! Amen! SUDDENLY! Come, Holy Spirit, Come!

WOW! Friday

Another big day! Our business meeting had the usual reports and resolutions but we also commissioned our missionaries and honored a young man who had finished his missionary service. We also met the global visitors and dignitaries from all over the world that are worshipping and sharing with us. There was one issue about procedures that was a bone of contention with some and we ended up voting by standing vote instead of voice vote since it was so close... and they ran out of time to even let us know the vote. But I guess the resolution was rewritten as we were given a new copy tonight as we left and will vote on it tomorrow.
This afternoon i attended a learning track on being a green church. It started with the author of the book Serve God, Save the Planet and then I attended a session that spoke on our connection to the earth and a session on our connection with the Food We Eat. OK... that speaker made me angry as she, whether she meant to come across that way or not, started a little bit with a bit of bashing of corn fields, corn fed cattle, high fructose corn syrup, and pork producers...also somewhat implying that the pork industry had something to do with H1N1. I wanted to walk out of her lecture, but I had to stay to get my CEU credits. Most of her presentation was OK, but I was so angry (and I'm sure my expression and body language showed it) that I didn't always hear other things she said.
Tonight Dr. Watkins spoke, including many illustrations from her trip to the Congo and our need to care, not about just ourselves and what is happening here, but around the world, too. There are so many things that I have learned that disturb and challenge me (in a good way... not like the afternoon speaker)... like what sacrifices are being made in the Congo so that we can have our cell phones. The teens attending GA sang a great version of the rock song "Shining Star" which fit into the worship theme beautifully. The whole service was very uplifting, even the portion where the names of those saints who have gone on to glory since the GA of -07 were scrolled on the jumbotron. We were singing "This Little Light of Mine" as the names rolled. Their light will continue to shine in the work they passed on to others.
I thank God for all of them... I thank God for the energy of our youth... I thank God for all of you who are sharing your talents... I thank God for friends who share and support. We are One in the Spirit, We are One in the Lord... no matter where we live and love and laugh. Somos Uno! Disciplos de Cristo! We are One! Disciples of Christ!