I have often thought about the seven deadly sins. I think I have probably tasted them all in full or in part - and felt the full impact of their promise for more but instead leaving me drained, wanting and miserable. Too often I have been tripped up by trying to avoid lust and greed, etc. only to find my life going down a black hole of managing my sin rather than living a full life. I think it is a by-product of the attempt to live the Christian life - we can find ourselves focusing on all the wrong things; avoiding mistakes; sin management and keeping up appearances.

This provides the backdrop to a wonderful and encouraging charge from someone who knew how to live. He didn’t live perfectly (in fact he failed big time) but, he charged into life and it seems he learned from his mistakes and focused on falling in love with Jesus. He left us in the form of a letter, a better way. A way that doesn’t avoid the topic of sin - but doesn’t make it the focus of life. He writes to us about what I call a life-giving way. A way to find life to the full! I stumbled across this passage yesterday and it filled me with hope, brought a smile to my face and redirected my thoughts which again had come to rest on former things.

I hope you find encouragement and hope and life as you reflect on the writings of Peter.

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. [2 Peter 1.1-7]

Ahhh - Stability. The virtue of persevering - in this instance persevering in relation to place. This is a much needed piece of wisdom that I need to hear and one for our overly mobile culture. Lord, help me, as Benedict admonishes, to listen (and there is that metaphor of trees - I am seeing a theme in my life!).

“An elder said: Just as a tree cannot bear fruit if it is often transplanted, so neither can a monk bear fruit if he frequently changes his abode.”

(quoted from Thomas Merton’s, The Wisdom of the Desert p. 34)

I don’t know where I heard it first - but it has definitely stuck with me. The thought that was posted to my mind was that a name for the mystery of the universe, the God and King of all should be, “Surprise.” Seems fitting. A God who shows up in unlikely places: a bush on fire in the desert, in the belly of a whale, speaking through donkeys, and hanging out with sinners and tax collectors, a God who raises the dead, provides gallons of REALLY good wine at a local wedding and a God who when all the world is stirred up - surprise - ascends into heaven.

That is a God who should be called, Surprise. You never know when or where or even how such a God will show up.

It causes me to keep my eyes pealed. Keeps me alert. Grows my awareness and certainly opens my thoughts to God’s uncanny ability to speak and show Himself through and in the most unlikely circumstances.

When was the last time you sensed, Surprise?

Lately if I haven’t been outside taking 60 foot trees and digging up stumps in my spare time (there is post brewing from this!), I have been preparing for a fall where I will have the privilege of hanging out with some great people and spending some time training folks in youth ministry. I am grateful for the opportunities to be able to stay involved in youth ministry. I am passionate about it and I think I also bring something to the “party” so to speak - so while I am not actively shepherding other people’s kids on a daily basis, God hasn’t put me “out to pasture” quite yet (how is that for mixed metaphors? YEAH!!). This fall will take me to Chambersburg, PA; Kansas City; Twin Cities; Lancaster, PA; Pittsburgh and Toronto - should be quite the adventure (I’ll be leading a few seminars for sonlife, training some original material and facilitating a spiritual retreat).

I have been affiliated with a training organization called SonLife (now we are called Youthfront/Sonlife - or something like that) for some 16 or 17 years and in that time I don’t think I have been more expectant for our future than right now. We are unveiling a new revision of our seminar called Enroute, and I am finding it very invigorating - this new training is a helpful addition to the literature and language that informs youth ministry. I have been getting prepped for facilitating a training this Saturday in Chambersburg, PA - and I sorta wish it was closer to Saturday - cause I think I am ready to go! Even so, I guess if I was pinned down I would probably say I enjoy the process of sharing what I learn a little bit more than the preparation and study… but it is a close call. The next couple days I will continue to review and refine this new 6/7 hour seminar…

If anyone is still making it past these ways… I don’t know what training your youth ministry employs; but obviously I would encourage you to check out Enroute. For the money and time investment; I think that Enroute may be the best value out there!

There have been a few “defining moments” in my life. Moments that with their immediacy and completely distilled messsage speak loud and clear, shaping my life in a unique fashion. A couple of profound moments that altered my direction and outlook on life immediately come to mind: That moment on the Yellow Breeches in Grantham, PA gazing into a beautiful young woman’s blue eyes, right then I knew in my bones that I would marry L (and I did - and we took wedding pictures near that spot). A winter morning driving along route 28 between Midland and Catlett, VA when it became clear that doing the work of God was killing God’s work in me, and that I must walk away from full-time vocational ministry. A night in my bed when I realized my father’s voice would never hit my ears on earth again. Defining moments.

Some are joyous. Some are tragic. Each quietly causing a seismic shift in that inner part of you.

I was at Resurrection Center in Woodstock, IL back in August of 2005. It was on a summer afternoon when I made my way across the conference centers grounds. I was walking determined on reaching my goal. I had heard there was a hermitage on the property and I wanted to see it. I got a bit turned around and made some wrong turns, but my persistence won over my midguided steps and I found it; and the key to make entry.

After nebbing around the one room building I settled down in a wooden rocker and gazed out the large picture window. The space between this world and the next began to close in. In that little room in the middle of the woods in the middle of North America - I heard again the voice of my Maker. One word. Two syllables that shook my being. Five letters that embraced me with deep felt approval and acceptance. In that moment (or moments?) - few things could compete with my focus and alertness to an often forgotten term.

I haven’t and hope to never forget that short time in that little room.

I was reminded there that I am dear to my Maker. I found new purpose and new desire to continue on taking steps with and toward my Master. I found dignity and meaning in who I was. I “saw” this world and my place in it focused for a second.

A defining moment - defined by a two-syllable, five letter word, whispered by a still, small voice.

Abide.

At that instant - I most deeply wanted to abide. And it has made all the difference.

“Freedom is not whether we can do whatever we want, but whether we can do what we most deeply want.”

(I found that quote in that little room in the woods in Woodstock, IL - I don’t know who first said it.)

I leave with the family tomorrow to head to the mountains for a week or so; we are headed to Massanutten Resort. My extended family is all gathering there to enjoy a time together, should be an enjoyable time (golfing, swimming, hiking, skateboarding for the kids, cooking out and other fun).

For me - I would much rather go to the mountains than the beach - so I am looking forward to it!

I am taking the following books for hopefully some relaxing vacation reading.

Thomas Keating’s Manifesting God

Miroslav Volf’s Free of Charge

and a constant companion…

Eugene Peterson’s The Jesus Way

I don’t know how much or if I will be posting between now and next Friday - but hopefully some pics of the mountains will fill this place. May we enjoy the moments of our days!

Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses the man of God.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.

Peace!

O Lord open our lips, and we shall declare Your praise.

Almighty God,
to you all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from you no secrets are hidden.
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Opening Prayer The United Methodist Hymnal 1989 p. 6)

As summer approaches (culturally it is here - with Memorial Day behind us, school ending and AC’s humming all around) I return every year to meditate on the season of heat. With the earth rotating so that the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun - we have longer periods of sunlight, hotter temperatures and unpredictable storms. Growing up in Florida I have come to enjoy the changing of the seasons (in Florida there is one season - hot - okay two: hot and HOTTER & Humid). And it has taken me some time to “warm back up” to Summer. In the past few years I really have come to appreciate the warming of our days (It is still probably my least favorite season - but I appreciate it none-the-less).

With Summer we see the explosion of color - the grass and trees find the greenest of green and the flowers bloom with vibrant yellows, “radish-y” reds, plum-like purples and fiery oranges and every shade in-between. It seems to happen so quickly - one day you plant this tiny plant and it seems overnight what once was so fragile and on the edge of life has blossomed into a vibrant and vital flowering factory. It never ceases to amaze me. Now - I don’t go wild at my home. We are no burgeoning plant nursery or anything - but we plant a few annuals and try to keep up with a simple, tidy garden or two - but the bit we do does me good. It forces me outside. I am connected to soil, air, and water; pulling me from the artificial and controlled environment of my plaster and plastic world. It calls me to the now of watering, weeding, tending and noticing that is essential even in elementary gardening. It reminds me of God: The Gardner, the One who causes growth, the Creator, the Sustainer, and in a mysterious way - Life itself.

The seasons. Summer. Heat, light, sweat, thunder storms, wind, laughter, bright colors and nights full of stars - don’t miss it huddling next to the Air Conditioner, grumping about electric bills and the price of gas to take a vacation to the beach. Get outside your own four walls and put your toes in the soil and water a daisy. I have found getting outside in the summer time is not only fun, but it is good for our insides, as well.

“a long loving gaze at the real…”

photo credit from Mike Raether.com

Maybe it is just me. Probably.

I have noticed that I am more enamored or more drawn to the “prescriptions” or commands of scripture than to the promises or to the declarations. I think it may be a result of my penchant to act or “do something.” Maybe you can relate to this, as well.

Think about the great command (or the sh’ma as found in Deuteronomy 6).

The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” (Mark 12.29-30)

When you think about this statement do you hear the declaration or the command. (I hear some of you, “both!”) But I wonder when we think of the “great commandment” as it is called - what do we do with God’s declaration, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

Another example that we probably know by heart, the great commission.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Again what are our ears drawn to - the declaration or the command; the prescription or the promise? I know we should be attentive to both, but where is our awareness greater? In my honest moments when I reflect on both of these passages, I hear the commands. I hear my duty. I hear my obligations. I hear the imperatives over the indicatives. I wonder in my reaction to act without really hearing the surrounding truths what am I missing?

Am I turning this vital faith into a human endeavor? Am I doing my own little thing oblivious to what God is up to in our world? Am I focusing on me rather than on Thee? Am I practicing a kind of deism, inattentive to the nearness and presence of God?

May I not glance past God’s promises and declarations - may I learn to like Mary ponder these statements and live out God’s commands in light of them. For if I “do” the commands - am I loving, if I am failing to listen for the one true God? Do I find myself so enamored or so focused on “making disciples” that I miss the presence of God in my midst (walking right by the figurative burning bushes around me)?

“If we take seriously the word of the risen Christ, ‘Know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time’ (Matthew 28:20), we should expect that He will be actively present in our lives. If our faith is alive and luminous we will be alert to moments, events, and occasions when the power of resurrection is brought to bear on our lives. Self-absorbed and inattentive, we fail to notice the subtle ways in which Jesus is snagging our attention.” [Brennan Manning in Abba’s Child p. 99-100]