Author: SusannahDB

Words of Hope-Advent 1

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Years ago, I was asked by a church to lead a four-week Advent study. I’ve always loved the ritual of the Advent candle lighting, so for the study I decided to explore where does the Bible mention hope, peace, joy, and love. Each Sunday in Advent, we met and opened our Bibles together. It was such a rich experience that I’d love to do that again here on my blog. Each Monday morning, I’ll share Scriptures for the next week of Advent. I do my sharing a week early to help out any clergy friends in need of inspiration. Bring your Bibles and read through the Scriptures listed.

I’ll invite us all to reflect on these questions-

What surprised you about how and where hope/peace/joy/love is mentioned in the Bible?

Where do you find hope/peace/joy/love this Advent season?

How will you share hope/peace/joy/love this Advent season?

And since Advent begins on Sunday, we’ll start right away with hope.

 

Hope

 

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,   his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.

                                               Lamentation 3:21-25

 

Psalm 33:18, 22- God’s eye is on those who hope in God’s steadfast love.

Psalm 39:7 – My hope is in the Lord.

Psalm 42: 1-5 – My soul longs for God.  God is my hope.

Psalm 71: 5, 14 – “I will hope continually.”

Jeremiah 17: 5-13 – verse 7 trust can be translated as hope. Hope/trust?

Romans 4:13-25 – Abraham’s hope

1 Corinthians 13:13 – faith, hope, and love abide

 

What surprised you about how and where hope is mentioned in the Bible?

Where do you find hope this Advent season?

How will you share hope this Advent season?

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A New Tea Shop

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Last weekend we took some time away. One of our stops was Voila! in Frederick, Maryland. This tiny tea shop smells delicious as soon as you walk through the door. The staff is friendly and knowledgable. You can sniff any of their teas and you can enjoy a cup of anything in the shop. While we were there, they had three teas available to sample too.
I bought a couple of teas which will be reviewed in the coming weeks. I left the shop with a cup of White Grey. This is Earl Grey made with white tea. So delicious.
It was a fun place to explore and sample some unique new teas. I am looking forward to enjoying the teas I purchased and planning another trip to the shop. This is the same shop where my friend purchased Earl Grey Creme which I highly recommend.

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We Are Called to Remember!

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Today would have been my buddy, Rev. Kristi Foster’s 44th birthday. She died at the age of 39 from colon cancer. She was fearless with an amazing love of life and a strong faith. Her family and friends were so important to her and you knew she loved you. In celebration of her life, I’m sharing this list I created in 2013 of some of the times I miss my friend!

Moments when I miss my friend-

when I listen to a CD you made

when life is awesome

when life stinks

when something funny happens

when I need to make a big decision

when I can’t believe what one of God’s beloved children just did/said

when it is Thursday pizza night

when a Friends reference seems appropriate

when The Amazing Race is on

when I just want to hear your voice

when I have to go camping

when I make salsa-with or without a wooden spoon

when I have a veggies only day

when I enjoy a glass of wine I know you would enjoy

when I have a guess what my niece did story-Aunts rock!

when I’m lost and in need of a reminder of my call

when I need a laugh or a good cry

when I need a partner in crime

when I discover a fun new place to eat, hear a great new song, or see a fun new tv show

when my long hair drives me crazy and I want to chop it off-I remember I started growing it out to donate as soon as I heard you had cancer

whenever the Blue Women sing

when I remember one of our crazy trips (Geneva, Taize, Scotland, road trips!)

when I pull something out of the trash to recycle it

when I use cloth napkins

when I cannot remember something I know you would remember in great detail

when I hear your voice still saved on my voicemail

when I remember my wedding or your wedding

when I wear stripes

when I see your picture.

 

Loving God, thank you for all those we love. We miss those who are gone. Today, I am missing my dear friend. Thank you for the many years of friendship we had. I lift up to you in prayer all who love her and miss her. Mend our broken hearts. Amen.

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A Prayer for Unity

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A Prayer for Unity

God of All, We are a country divided. If I disagree with someone, I stop speaking to that person instead of listening. I see those who have different ideas or beliefs as my enemies instead of someone who could broaden my perspective.

Loving God, Forgive me and forgive this county. We have become fearful of each other. We are quick to judge. We assume too much. We look for differences. We think of ourselves first. Let today be a day of unity. No matter what happens today, give us the strength and courage to work together. Open our eyes to see you in each other. Open our hearts to share what we have. Open our minds to new ways of thinking. Forgive us and help us to forgive each other. Amen.

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What to Wear to Church?

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I have a confession to make. I wear jeans to church. For most of you, this may not seem like something I need to confess. Let me give you the background. In my family, we went to church every Sunday during my childhood. Our nicest clothes were our church clothes. I remember new dresses for Easter and shiny church shoes. When I started working in churches, I continued to dress very nicely for Sunday worship. I was leading worship and wanted to look the part. Now, things are different. I must dress nicely Monday-Friday for work. I want to wear something different on the weekends, and so I wear my jeans. As I got dressed for church recently, I said to my husband, “I am wearing jeans today.” He reminded me that I told him that God doesn’t care what we wear to church. I believe that and need to live into the belief for myself. So with apologies to my grandmother who might not like it, I wear jeans to church. And upon further reflection, I don’t think a confession is needed for this wardrobe choice because God does not care what I wear to church. I am working to get on God’s page with this one.

My hope for all of us is that we spend much more time growing our faith on Sunday mornings and much less time worrying what we or anyone else is wearing to worship!

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Today is All Saints’ Day

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Today is All Saints’ Day. This is a day when we remember and give thanks for everyone throughout the centuries who has shared their faith with the next generation. Today we are thankful for our ancestors of faith in biblical times, the saints we’ve known in our lives, and everyone in between. When we say saints, some people think that only applies to certain important people of faith. In fact the opposite is true. We are all saints of God doing our best to live our faith and share our faith with others.

Today, I encourage you to take a moment to remember a saint you have known who is no longer with us and a saint you never knew. You can give thanks for someone whose name you know or someone whose name is now known only by God. As people of faith it is important for us to remember that our faith was passed down to us and it is our job to pass it on to others.

I’d love to know more about the saints you are remembering today.

Book Review-The CEB Women’s Bible

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While I did not need another Bible, I was delighted to have the opportunity to experience this Bible. I have been enjoying this translation for a few years. The Common English Bible (CEB) is available on the Bible app I use, so I often read it with my hospice patients. I find this translation to be easy to read and understand.
This Women’s Bible contains study helps and other information about the women of the Bible. And all of the extra information was written and edited by women. Each book of the Bible is introduced in a succinct summary. Each chapter begins with a brief reflection. The best parts are the portraits of women throughout the Bible. Each portrait introduces us to a woman (named or unnamed). The portraits share what we know about each woman and remind us how much is still unknown. This Bible includes an index of every woman-including those whose names we do not know. While reading through the text, you’ll enjoy and learn from the articles. These are short pieces on a variety of topics like pregnancy, divorce, sin, shame, and in-laws. Some extra goodies at the end include questions to be used each Sunday with the lectionary, one-month Bible overview reading plan, New Testament in 90 days reading plan, Bible in one year reading plan, and maps too.
Many of my clergy friends have a verse or story they look up in new translations to see how it measures up for them. When I get a new Bible, I turned to Luke 8 and read about the faithful followers of Jesus. I love seeing the name Susanna in the Bible and knowing that there were women following Jesus from the beginning. This Bible includes a portrait of Susanna.
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I recommend this Bible for anyone hoping to learn more about the women in our sacred text. I recommend this Bible for anyone who wants to try the CEB. If you, like me, always wondered what the women were doing and thinking in Biblical times, this is the Bible for you.

I’m looking forward to exploring the #CEBWomensBible more, so I can continue to discover more about my female ancestors in the faith and pass along their stories to the next generation.

 

I received a copy of this Bible in exchange for an honest review.

Worship Words-A Fall Prayer

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A Fall Prayer
A new season is a wonderful time to pause and be thankful, O God. Hear our prayers as we live into the season of fall. For those of us who love pumpkins, we are thankful to find any item we’d like to eat available in a pumpkin flavor this time of year. For everyone who loves sweaters and sweatshirts, we are thankful for cooler temperatures. For everyone who loves football, we are thankful it is on tv all the time. For everyone who loves costumes and candy, we are thankful for Halloween. For everyone who loves raking leaves, we are thankful for falling leaves. For everyone who loves being thankful, we are thankful for Thanksgiving. For everyone who loves this season, God, we are thankful for Fall! Amen.
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Book Review-Nine Essential Things I’ve Learned about Life by Harold S. Kushner

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Nine Essential Things I’ve Learned about Life Harold S. Kushner
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This audio book is read by the author. He has a soothing, calming voice that makes it easier to consider the difficult topics contained in this book. Kushner tackles tough topics like original sin which he rejects, helping others, revenge, forgiveness and how we practice our faith. He uses the Bible, personal experience, and modern examples to explore the topics.
In his chapter, “Forgiveness is a Favor You Do Yourself,” Kushner looks at forgiveness in a new way. He writes that revenge is not about justice; it is about power. He would encourage us to stop using those two words interchangeably. He writes forgiveness is active not passive. Two Scripture examples in this chapter are Joseph forgiving his brothers (Genesis 45) and David and Michal’s inability to forgive each other in 2 Samuel 6. What if we were active in forgiveness? What if we stop trying to get revenge on our “enemies” and instead seek forgiveness? These are some of the difficult questions this book will leave you considering.
Many of the Biblical stories and verse he shares are not the most often cited examples pulled from the Bible. I appreciate that he opens up and discusses parts of our sacred text that we don’t often highlight. I enjoyed listening to this book so much that I used it in my most recent sermon. You’ll enjoy this book whether you read it or listen while the author reads it to you. This book is written so anyone can read it and understand it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be challenged in your worldview and your faith.

My New Spiritual Practice

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My New Spiritual Practice

After reading Coffeehouse Contemplative, I contacted a local Spiritual Director. We had our first meeting recently. I asked her for a suggestion of a spiritual practice I could do regularly. From our conversation, she suggested I find a way to add Scripture and a time to slow down to my day. To make my new practice something I’d want to continue, I decided to include sticky notes too.

I write a Scripture verse on a sticky note and place it somewhere I’ll see it often. For me, this is in my hospice binder. I pause and read the verse multiple times each day. I can keep the same verse for as long or as short of a period of time as I want. When I was preaching a few weeks ago, my verse was from the sermon text. When I read a verse that I enjoy, I write it down.

 

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I’m enjoying an opportunity to slow down and reflect on these Scriptures. So far, this new practice has been easy to keep doing.

What practices do you keep as you live your faith in your daily life?