Blog
Writing, notes, and occasional rambles.
belonging sermon
So a few months ago, I took over a service at a nursing home once a month. I had been playing piano for the services for a while before I was asked to lead the service as well. Sometimes it’s a little awkward to hop back and forth from the piano to the altar, but it’s been working pretty well, and I have a great team of volunteers who come out and shepherd people. My sermons are short, five minutes or less. Today’s was the shortest yet, just over two minutes. The text was John 14:15-21, “I will not leave you orphaned,” that kind of thing. And I thought maybe other people would be interested in reading what I had to say. So here’s my sermon for today: I met someone who grew up in a family where, instead of saying “bye” or “see you later” when one of them left the house, they would say, “remember whose you are.” It was a reminder to be strong in identity and values, to remember where you came from and to whom you belong. It was a reminder to live faithfully and in glory to God. Because of that story, I have a card in my wallet that has a sunset with those words printed on it – Remember whose you are. We remember whose we are, that we are God’s children. God loves us so much that he sent his Son to die for us. During Easter we especially celebrate his resurrection, but that’s not the end. Jesus ascends to heaven, where he still lives, and sends the Spirit to be with us. God loves us so much that He will not leave us orphaned or alone. At the beginning of this Gospel reading, Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” The commandment we are instructed to keep is the one given just before this in John, to love one another as God has loved us. Our response to God’s love to is to love one another. This can be easy to do when people are nice and we have the ability to help. But what about when we have no help to give or when people are mean or lash out? God’s commandment is clear. We are to love one another, not just when it’s convenient or when they look like us or have our same values or the same beliefs, not just when they’re nice to us or have something to offer us. We are to love one another as God has loved us. Period. But we’re not alone in this. God sends us the Spirit to guide us and be with us as we figure out the world. He does not leave us orphaned. The Spirit is God’s presence on earth. And this Spirit lives in us. That might sound like some modern hippie stuff, but God’s work is done through us, and the Spirit guides that. We remember whose we are, that we are God’s children. We should do our best to show whose we are by how we love each other. We talk about scripture being God-breathed, God’s word filtered through human hands. Our lives and works should also be God-breathed, the Spirit working through us with our personalities and passions and mistakes imprinted on them. Our love for one another is God-breathed, Spirit-inspired, with our own expression on it. Remember whose you are. I have three other sermons that I haven’t posted, though I will if people are interested.
Mar 2014discipline
My theme for this year, as a New Year’s Resolution, is discipline. Since I closed up my law firm, I’d been rather undisciplined - sleeping late and too much, eating too much, watching too much TV, drinking too frequently (rarely to excess), generally living in my own bubble of self-indulgence and not engaging with my community. I felt bad, emotionally and physically. New Year seemed like the right time to make more changes, and I decided to try to live with more deliberation and discipline. I still have a long way to go, but I think I’ve made a good start. I get up with Carl most days and work on our new business (ArtsMuse !) for a decent portion of the day, I get out of the house regularly, I’m eating, if not better, at least less. I attend 1 Million Cups, which is a weekly presentation of two start-ups, and I made it my goal to meet 2 new people each week. That’s pushed me outside my comfort zone, though I think with the lack of “work friends,” maybe I’m willing to seek out human contact a little more. And I’ve been reading more. Last year, I read a lot of nonfiction, which was great, and I learned a lot, but I’m trying to read more fiction right now (I love my local library!). I started voice lessons, and I’ve been playing more piano recently too. So that’s been well and good, but I can do better. I have nowhere near the discipline of, say, mothers. My house is still regularly cluttered, I’m still not exercising (I do walk the dogs, but does that count?), and my spiritual life is not great. I’m really involved in my church, but the last time I prayed on my own without prompting in church (before yesterday) was, well, I don’t remember, because it’s been that long. I’ve decided on my Lenten disciplines. First, give up alcohol. I think my liver and my gut will both appreciate that. Second, follow the devotional that my pastor wrote. Third, pray regularly, at least daily. And fourth, write or draw (or both) daily. I still feel like I write like a lawyer, and I’m hoping that I can write like a normal human again. As for drawing, my artistic ability is limited, and it’s something I want to improve upon. My husband asked what Lenten disciplines are all about, which was a good reminder to me of why we do this anyway. The way I learned it was that when we deprive ourselves of something, we are meant to pray when we feel the deprivation. One year when I was a kid, my dad, my brother, and I decided to fast on Wednesdays (though somehow, smoothies didn’t count). The idea was that when we felt hungry, we were supposed to pray. Hopefully this will mean praying at dinner now. :) With adding disciplines, again, it’s meant to be something that brings us closer to God. The devotional and praying regularly are pretty obvious. I have a harder time explaining the writing/drawing, but I think anything that gets me focusing for long-ish periods of time is a positive in my personal development, not that it will make me worthier of redemption, but I think we are meant (called?) to improve constantly.
Apr 2013bridal emergency kit
A good friend got married last weekend. It was a wonderful ceremony and a fun reception. As one of the bridesmaids, I elected to bring the emergency kit for the day. And this was the emergency kit to end all emergency kits. I was prepared for basically anything except a biochemical attack. It was a pretty packed duffel bag, but it came in handy, and thankfully, I didn’t actually have to use much of it. :) So here’s my list of contents:
Mar 2013When I Die...
This may be a little macabre, but I’ve been thinking about what I want things to be like when I die. I closed my law firm officially last week. I just wasn’t happy practicing law, and I realized that when I’m on my deathbed, I don’t want to think that I should have changed jobs fifty years ago. And that’s what I would think if I continued in law, or at least in practicing law. So I’ve closed up shop and am spending some time being a housewife. I don’t think I will regret this. Thinking about being on my deathbed got me thinking about other areas of my life as well. Carl and I talked about things, and we agreed that, if one of us were to die suddenly, we don’t want either of us to feel that we should have said more or shown more love. And I know that, if one of us died today, I would know that I had shown him love and been shown so much love. I also don’t want to feel like I didn’t really LIVE. And by this, I don’t mean bungee jumping or swimming with sharks or opening a bar on a beach in Costa Rica. I mean being present. Being present to experience the beauty and the sorrow that life provides. This means everything from playing with my dogs and gardening to spending time with friends and family to traveling to reading a book and watching TV (because yes, watching some TV can contribute to my happiness). I’ve known someone who disconnected and chose not to be present and experience the hurts and the joys, and it caused a lot of pain for many people. I will be present though. I will try not to regret broken relationships or missed opportunities. I may not love life every day, but I will appreciate it and know that experiencing it is what makes everything worth it. Embracing the pain and the sadness so that celebrating joy and love is even more brilliant. That got really sappy, didn’t it? I’m in a bit of a sentimental and contemplative mood…
Jan 2013Update on slow cooking
I have three days left for my month-long challenge, and while I’ve had a blast, I’ll be glad to start using my slow cooker only a few times a week instead of every day. It’s produced SO MUCH FOOD. I did get a 1970s-era 3 1/2 quart Crock-Pot, so that will be nice for smaller quantities of food. Here’s the list of things I’ve made since my last post:
Dec 2012slow cooking month
Merry Christmas! I thought it was time for another post after such a very long radio silence. I wanted to let y’all know about my month of slow cooking. I’m over halfway through and having a blast. I’ve used it every day except the first two Wednesdays (because we were rather overloaded with leftovers). I’m working from three sources - Michele Scicolone’s The French Slow Cooker, Cook’s Illustrated The Best Slow and Easy Recipes, and Stephanie O’Dea’s blog . So far, I’ve made:
Jun 2012gardening excitement
Carl and I have been weeding the garden like mad the last few days. Out of the 500 square feet, a good 150 (if not more) of it had weeds. I assume it’s because we brought in a bunch of topsoil last year, but all the same, it’s quite annoying. I think most all of it is clear of weeds now, thank goodness. And we have vegetables growing! Some tomatoes on about half the plants, a few bell peppers on a couple of the plants, butternut squash, some melons (I don’t remember which kind I planted there, so we’ll just guess when they’re ripe), zucchini, cucumbers, and artichokes! One of the squash plants has started annexing the schoolyard behind our house, which is quite fun. Squash extended about ten feet into the schoolyard a couple years ago, causing the mowers to mow around it. The butternut squash plant in question is growing out of the compost, so it’s terrifically happy and producing lots of squash. The lettuce has just about gone to seed, as has the arugula. I don’t know what’s going on with the kale - it’s nearly inedible from being so tough, so if anyone has suggestions on what to do with it, let me know. I think that about covers what we are growing - a few more types of squash and melons, and then the asparagus is nice and bushy, so lots of nutrients are getting to the roots. And the potatoes and sweet potatoes are coming along nicely. Last night, we had lambchops from our meat CSA in a marinade of lemon juice, garlic, and oregano, and we had roasted beets. The beets are better when they’re wrapped in foil and roasted that way, but these were okay. It was our first time having lambchops - they were absolutely delicious, and I look forward to having them again. I made GF crepes for breakfast - also delicious. All in all, life is good, and I’m happy with how things are going. I haven’t done much sewing recently, but I’ll get back to that.
Jun 2012Things I Miss
A friend asked me today if I miss being at my former firm. I thought about it for a minute. There are some things I miss: being busy all the time (or at least a lot of the time) someone else shouldering responsibility for my work someone else being responsible for bringing in new work having a steady paycheck However, I know that these are things I miss now. I know business will come in the door in waves, and I won’t always be busy (or always slow). I know I can build a network of people I trust to respond honestly to my work product or my questions, which is something I’m already building. I know I’m getting better all the time at bringing in new business. And I know that the paycheck will come, and it will vary, but it will hopefully pay off in the end. In short, I miss having a safety net. But the freedom that comes with being my own boss is amazing. And that’s something I would miss tremendously at a firm.
Jun 2012peppers
I fear I’ve killed off a lot of my pepper plants, both through pulling them up with weeds (we have weeds that look remarkably like pepper plants) and now through the cold. I’m quite disappointed. Maybe I’ll try putting some seeds straight in the ground later this weekend, once it has warmed up a little more. I’ve heard that peppers do better when started inside, but I can’t wait at this point. Also, I have SO MANY tomato plants. We’ll cage them in the next few days. Mmm.
May 2012Garden Excitement
Carl and I have been busy in the garden. It’s been lots of fun. I’ve planted: lots of tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, melons, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, lettuce (which is bolting), rhubarb, amaranth, and, naturally, borage. My herbs are safely in their herb boxes, and Carl built me a box just for basil. Our artichokes from last year are coming back! And our strawberries are doing great. And our raspberries are coming in. I’ve taken some pictures of some plants in the yard, in our flowerbed, and my lavender bed. My lavender is blooming, and it’s awesome.