Playdates with God: Budgeting Relationships, a Photoplay

She said that too often, we are tempted to go it alone. Those words named a part of me—sometimes it’s just easier to do it myself. Who has time to manage the schedule of others, to wait for just the right time…deal with anybody’s stuff but my own?

But then she said that working with others makes us better. It builds trust and authenticity. We can learn from and inspire one another.

I felt my heart open up to these possibilities. And I decided to accept the challenge.

The Photoplay prompt this month is about more than taking pictures…It is about relationships. So we met at a place in our little town that is famous for just that—a place to be together; to sip a warm mug, peruse a book, and look at art. That’s what Taylor’s Books does—gives a space for folks in our community to connect. On many levels.

As soon as my friend Betsy and I walked in the door, we ran into a friend and mentor in the ministry. He was meeting with a friend for coffee, and the familiar way they were with each other told us this wasn’t the first time.

“He has known me for years,” our friend said. Then he whispered, “And he still talks to me.”

We took a picture of them. 

Then someone came up behind me and gave me a big hug—a friend I hadn’t seen for months. She had her laptop and was working on a project, meeting some fellow creatives to brainstorm. The chairman for the Arts Council was getting a cupa joe to go. She introduced herself and gave us some photography tips. It was pretty cool.

We looked at the art in the gallery, smelled a book or two, and talked. We talked a lot. 

This installation is called Precision Pixilation by WV artist Tiera Floyd.

It’s hard to imagine how being with a friend can open eyes to wonder. It’s hard to imagine how I could forget how good that feels.

A cord of three strands, you know?

In 2012, I’m thinking about budgeting relationships better. It’s a good investment.

How do you embrace the God-joy? Every Monday I’ll be sharing one of my Playdates with God. I would love to hear about yours. It can be anything: outside, quiet time. Maybe it’s solitary. Maybe it’s loud and crowded. Just find Him. Be with Him. And come tell us about it.

Grab my button at the bottom of the page and join us:

 

Sharing with L.L. Barkat today also: 

Sunday

The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails--given by one Shepherd. Be warned my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the the body.

--Ecc. 12:11-12

Joining Deidra in quiet worship today.

What Happens When We Dream and a Tiny Correction

Alice laughed. “There's no use trying,” she said. “One can't believe impossible things.”

“I daresay you haven't had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast…” ― Lewis Carroll

I’ve been feeling just a wee bit sorry for Newt Gingrich lately. Just a wee bit, mind you. It seems he is being poked fun at for calling himself a “visionary” after publicly sharing a dream to establish a colony on the moon.

“I come at space from a standpoint of a romantic belief that it really is part of our destiny,” Mr. Gingrich said in his speech last Wednesday.

While this proclamation may not have been his best political move and it may have caused some raised eyebrows, I’m feeling a little conflicted about joining in this particular criticism (aren’t there enough other areas we could focus on?). After all, I try to encourage just this type of dreaming in my children whenever I can.

The strange thing that I’ve noticed is that kids don’t seem to have a problem with this. It’s in the grown-up world that we stumble over big dreams. I think that, maybe, dreaming is something that—rather than “growing out of”—we have lost. We stop doing it, and so that ability grows weaker and weaker. Our brains stop reinforcing the neural pathways that promote creativity. We don’t have time for it, it’s impractical, it’s silly…the list of reasons why we should use our minds for other things is endless. But…

I wonder if there are lists of reasons we should be using our imaginations more?

We sometimes think that imagination is cognitively easy because children can use it better than adults. In fact, imagination is arduous and practical. People who possess imaginative talents can say, “If I were you, I would do this…” Or they can think, “I’m doing it this way now, but if I tried to do it that way, things might go faster.” These double-scope and counterfactual abilities come in quite handy in real life.”—David Brooks in The Social Animal

This morning, my youngest son came down the stairs tying his robe. With sleep still in his eyes, he plopped down on the chair and proclaimed, “You are looking at an amazingly amazing magician!”

He proceeded to tell me about a dream he had had in the night about using magic to make a recliner chair disappear—in front of the whole school, of course. And then he went back upstairs to record the dream. He’s keeping a dream journal.

I can’t even remember the last time I let a dream—the sleeping kind—amaze me.

Ellen Langer, in her book Mindfulness, says that adults often lose creativity because we are outcome oriented and this tends to deaden a playful approach to life.

Our tendency to focus on outcome…narrows our self-image. When we envy other people’s assets, accomplishments, or characteristics, it is often because we are making a faulty comparison. We may be looking at the results of their efforts rather than at the process they went through on the way…

But, what if the outcomes we see are not the ones we should be focusing on? What would happen if we let ourselves dream? Create? I wonder what might happen to our faith if we exercised our imaginations every day?

... If our imaginations are broadened enough, something that seems unbelievable to us can seem possible; and we can come to our prayers expectantly…--Luci Shaw in Breath for the Bones.

How can we respond in faith if we do not move beyond what can be seen with our eyes? If we let ourselves dream, what could we do? Because we are human, when we dream we will make mistakes. We will fall down. We will be wounded. But, just as Jacob, if we hold on for the blessing through the struggle, we will be touched by God.

When we dream, faith can transform.

I am not packing my bags for the moon, yet, friends. But, I want to look deeper…see beneath what I see…grab on to the Real. Some might say that makes me a visionary. That’s what faith-eyes can do. 

*******

Because I am human, I made a wee mistake in the original scripture cards I linked up earlier this week.  Seems I originally left out four verses (James 1: 23-26).  Please forgive? My eyes must have been all mixed up with words and dates and my double check somehow missed it. Thank you so much for your grace. But, if you would so like, here is the PDF to print out scripture memory cards for the book of James.

I used the Avery label 5388 to make them.  This should print out index card size cards with perforated edges of Avery 5388. That way you won’t have to do any cutting.

How the Word Tranforms and Scripture Cards for the Book of James

I knew what the lectionary scriptures were for Sunday. I knew because on Saturday, the pastor who taught the course I was attending read them aloud to the class. We were talking about the church as a body that transforms, and he read to us from Jonah about the transformation of the people of Nineveh. He read to us from 1 Corinthians that this world in its present form is passing away…

And when he read those words aloud in class we all looked wide-eyed at one another and smiled and proclaimed about the timing of God. But when my pastor reads them from the pulpit on Sunday—my eyes well with tears of recognition.

I don’t know the way to transformation without the Word. 

Every week my friends and I gather to study it—this life-giving, seed-planting, world-transforming Word. We’ve done it for years, gathered around the teachings of Kay and Beth and Priscilla and Jennifer…too many Word givers to count. We started a new one a couple weeks ago, and how my heart celebrates the way this small group of women holds together this way—the way we love each other through the stuff of life.

And today, when Dr. Henry tells me that to correct my son’s vision…to correct his vision we really should have caught it before age seven…When he says this, I need the anchor of all those words we’ve studied together. He just turned 15, for Pete’s sake, and this means he’s spent more than half his life with this visual deficit, and how could I have missed this? How could I not know?

Dr. Henry sees it on my face and he looks me straight in the eye, bless his beautiful heart, and he says, you are not a bad mother. He says a lot of other things too, including no depth perception and he’ll never drive a big rig and his other eye is perfect.

And I spend all evening trying to hide tears, feeling small as a mother, small in faith, and I flee the house…just to be alone. I can’t take the piles of laundry and paper and dog hair and everything I should be doing and…and…and I can’t breathe.

How could I not know?

I know it’s not the end of the world but somehow it feels a bit like it. And I sit in the car at K-mart and suddenly, I remember this:

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. –Colossians 3:3-4

And somehow, it calms my heart. I ponder what it means—to be hidden in Christ. And just what kind of glory will we appear in? I feel the sure, slow hand of God remind me that this is not the end. This is not our home. And one day…one day we all will be given new eyes.

Oh, praise God for his goodness.

I would not have had that verse in my heart if it wasn’t for my sister Ann—who encouraged me to memorize the book of Colossians in 2011. I didn’t think I could do it. But she broke it down…two verses a week. She generously made scripture cards available to make it easier. And gave some ideas for making the cards lovely. But I just glued them into a notebook. Well, sometimes I taped them. Mine weren’t pretty. But I stuck it out. And that old yellow notebook has a big part of my heart in it too. 

These next few weeks my Bible study sisters and I are learning about James with Beth Moore. Beth encourages us to memorize the book of James. Her plan is faster, but I love Ann’s two verses a week. It keeps the words on my heart—these tiny bites feed a great hunger.  There are 108 verses in James, that puts us just a couple weeks over a year to learn it, but that's not too bad. **CORRECTION: I originally left out four verses (James 1: 23-26) but the document is corrected now. My thanks to Cindy Irby for her help with this. Please forgive? My eyes must have been all mixed up with words and dates and my double check somehow missed it. Thank you so much for your grace. But, if you would so like, here is the PDF to print out scripture memory cards for the book of James.

I used the Avery label 5388 to make them.  If you buy Avery label 5388, when you print the document select the "actual size" option on the print screen. This should print out perfect for the index card size cards with perforated edges of Avery 5388. That way you won’t have to do any cutting.

**CORRECTION

Because I don’t know how to be transformed without the Word.

Or without my sisters to come along beside. 

with the amazing Jen:

and dear Michelle too:

Playdates with God: Transformed

I can see the steeple of a neighboring church through the window and I fix my gaze on the rise of it ascending from that hill of old stone. We are talking about church administration, only in a roundabout way.

How do we become a church that transforms lives in the land we’ve been given? Our instructor asks.

He frames the whole class in terms of this book and I am smitten. That Henri Nouwen has a way with words. And we talk about a community that transforms and what that means. And how change is necessary and healthy and how, as leaders, we must learn to not only navigate change, but, to regularly introduce it.

And after all this talk about change and being missional and conflict and leadership he says this…

To be a church that transforms we must first allow ourselves to be transformed…

And I am looking at that steeple through the window…wondering about all the transformation that has happened under its cross. And about all that has stayed the same. And I feel it creep through my core—the slow change; the opened eyes.

How do I miss it so often? How do I close my eyes to this?

I felt a brief moment of kairos time the other day, I recently told my pastor. I was pouring a pitcher of water in the coffee maker and that was it. I suddenly loved that water. I loved pouring it. And nothing else mattered except what I was doing in that moment. And God was there with me. It was so real, so…heartbreaking.

Her eyes teared up and I received that as gift.

We must first be transformed…

And I think it’s not something that happens all at once or that we are even aware of happening but it is that slow movement of our hearts in time with the Divine. The giving over in each moment…

I know why the steeple reaches up. And so, this morning, I do too. I stand in a place in the rain and lift up my hands…lift it all up.

Transform me, I plead. Transform.

And the rain falls down, melts along my cheek and flattens my hair and I am changed.

And there is nothing for it except to go back inside and put in another load of laundry.


How do you embrace the God-joy? Every Monday I’ll be sharing one of my Playdates with God. I would love to hear about yours. It can be anything: outside, quiet time. Maybe it’s solitary. Maybe it’s loud and crowded. Just find Him. Be with Him. And come tell us about it.

*I'm reflecting on The Social Animal by David Brooks today as part the book club at The High Calling. Will you join us?

Grab my button at the bottom of the page and join us:

 

Sharing with L.L. Barkat today also: 

Stepping out of the Frame

I live in a small world.

I grew up in a small town, attended a small college, work a small job, have a small family, and I keep small boundaries. But when a small world collides with big dreams…somebody has to change perspective.

2011 was the year my small world came alive with wonder. God started something new. First, He invited me to start looking at the world through the lens of play...and then He invited me to do the same with exercise! 

It all started with a birthday present. My husband surprised me with an iPhone for my 42^nd birthday. And then a friend--knowing I am a runner--suggested I try the RunKeeper app. I started taking my phone with me on every run—keeping track of my mileage and pace.

Then one evening in July I saw this:

And I had to stop and take a picture. When I returned home, I shared the photo with my Facebook friends. Soon, every time I was out running, a little piece of beauty caught my eye. I would quickly snap a shot of it and share it on Facebook later. It didn’t take long until I began to actively look for beauty on my running route. Things I had run past every day before suddenly looked different to me.

 

I began to see beauty everywhere.

It changed everything.

I used the RunKeeper GPS to explore new routes, scouring my little valley home for new and interesting sights. I couldn’t wait to get out and hit the road.

I was excited to get out there and run. It became a great beauty hunt. With new treasure each day.

As I stood on the doorstep of 2012, my heart began to wonder--how can I share this wonderful treasure? I wish I had the words to describe how this simple exercising of my beauty finding muscles has revitalized the exercising of my body. I asked my friend Melanie, how can we encourage others to live healthier this year? How can we encourage each other?

I admire Melanie's commitment to healthy living. She inspires me every day. Together, we decided that we would like to invite you to join us in to this great beauty hunt. Do you have a cell phone? Would you capture a bit of the beauty in your world and share it with us on our Facebook page? It's not about traffic, or the number of "likes" we get. It's about you. About living your best life. About seeing God's beauty in the place He has planted you. You don’t have to be a runner, but our hope is that this beauty hunt will get you out there—walking, cycling, skating…just moving!

And then visit us at [un] framed on Facebook and share what you find with us. Let’s encourage each other to be healthier this year. Let’s step out of the frame of the small world into the life of wonder. Let’s live a life [un]framed.

With my sweet friend Jennifer today: 

and with the amazing Emily:

A Poem for Jeffrey on the Eve of His Thirteenth Birthday

the last day of twelve

was nothing special,

you said.

you didn’t dress for gym,

didn’t play four-square with

the others. only walked,

you said.

in English, you wrote

a myth…about Gusano—

it means “worm” in Spanish

you said.

this Graco-Spanish

worm-god found freedom,

you said.

but he led his people

back into the

earth to rule the Underworld

and that’s why he will

be responsible for

the zombie apocalypse.

you said.

and math was about

interest, like money and

banks, you know?

you said.

and you have homework

so you came home in

a bad mood and didn’t

want to talk about  twelve

you said.

so i hushed and got out

the eggs, cracked them one-by-

one in the bowl and mixed until

those yellow eyes are gone; i

rubbed grease on the pan that is

swathed in black enamel

from years of cradling sweet

batter…and i poured more

in. you at the table building

up interest when the room

starts to smell like a birthday.

and suddenly, you are there,

beside to lick the batter from

the bowl. what time was I

born?

you said.

Listen to it!

shared with nancy and the gang.