Go in Peace Knowing You Are Loved

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This week as I was writing this benediction I was searching for a feeling of peace. I was longing for that peace that passes all understanding to be with me in my life. So, as you read this, know this benediction is for you and for me.
To set the mood for this benediction, I suggest having the piano played softly. Something soothing and not too familiar. Let the music play for 30 seconds to a minute to bring a sense of calm.
Friends, the time has come for us to leave this place. Here we have sought sanctuary. Here we have heard God’s good news. Here we have been reminded we are loved. Hold those things in your hearts as you move out into the world. When you leave this place, be sanctuary for those who need a safe place to be. When you leave this place, live the good news with your actions and your attitude. When you leave this place, love God, your neighbor, and yourself. Know you are God’s beloved and go in God’s own peace. Amen.

Alaska Wild Teas Raspberry Tea

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A year ago, I was enjoying a journey through Alaska with my family. It was a wonderful week exploring beautiful places, relaxing, eating delicious food, and spending quality time with my family. One of my souvenirs to remind me of the trip was this delicious tea. Since I love all things raspberry, I thought a raspberry herbal tea would be the perfect way to remember my time in Alaska. So to remember the trip, I enjoyed a cup of this tea this week.
This raspberry tea is a smooth, easy to drink tea with a subtle taste of raspberry. It is delicious and not too full of raspberry flavor. It pairs well with See’s Dark Chocolate Balls (a favorite treat of mine). It does appear that you can order this tea online if a trip to Alaska is not in your future. I’m planning to enjoy this tea as my evening summer beverage as I remember a great trip.

Here, I Pause!

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Here I pause in my sojourning
giving thanks for having come
come to trust at every turning
God will guide me safely home. 
 
–Come, O Fount of Every Blessing, 459 New Century Hymnal
 
In church, we sang these words, and they stayed with me. It is easy to not go to church-as one who used to work in the church and now does not-I have a much better understanding of how many others things pull at our attention. So as I was sitting in church singing these words, I felt like they were written for me. Coming into the church calms me. It feels like a pause and change from my daily life. In worship (especially when I am not leading worship), I am calmed. I breathe deeply. I feel connected.
I do give thanks for being in God’s house. I give thanks for being welcomed, for familiarity and comfort and for being challenged. I give thanks for God’s never-ending love for each of us. And I am reminded that God “will guide me safely home”.
Loving God, Today we hear your voice in song. We know that you want to spend time with us. We know your want us to live out our faith. We know you want us to slow down and look for you. Help us to do these things and help us to practice gratitude because when we stop to count our blessings it changes us too. Thank you, Holy One. Amen.

Always Say Thank You

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After a rough week, I thought a glass of wine with dinner would taste good. When I went to the fridge in our garage to take out a bottle of wine, imagine my surprise when the first bottle I grabbed was half empty. I have no idea when this bottle was opened and my best guess is at least three months ago. So, I went on to bottle number two. (And don’t worry I did bring the half empty bottle into the house to empty and recycle). Now back to the full bottle of wine. I looked at it and thought it was a screw top wine, so I tried to twist it open and nothing happened. Now, I could have asked someone else in the house for help opening the wine. Instead I thought maybe it actually has a cork in it, so I got out the cork screw and tried to open it. I tried three times to open the screw top wine bottle with a cork screw. Finally, my husband saw what I was doing and opened he wine using the screw top. And because this story wasn’t funny enough the wine was not good. It tasted terrible. After all that, I had two sips of it. Of course the second sip was to make sure it was terrible, and it was.

I share this story to acknowledge that we all make mistakes, second guess ourselves, and try to solve problems in ways we know won’t work. When life is more challenging, it is difficult to be at our best, thinking creativity and finding solutions before problems exist. My prayer for myself and for all of you is that we can be kind to ourselves, take time to take care of ourselves when we are too tired, too worn out, too overwhelmed, too burdened.
Compassionate One,
Life can be hard and life is beautiful. You walk with us on easy days and hard days. You are with us when we are at the top of our game and when we’d prefer to crawl back under the covers. You are our constant support and giver of all good gifts. For days when nothing goes as planned, we ask your help in doing our best, keeping our sense of humor, and knowing that tomorrow is another day. For perfect days where everything goes as planned, remind us to still give thanks. Thank you, God for the gift of life and every other way you shower us with your blessings. We say thank you, thank you, thank you. Amen.

A Man Called Ove-Book Review

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A Man Called Ove
Fredrik Backman
So often a big part of my job at hospice is helping people realize their purpose and set goals. When someone can no longer work or possibly leave their home, they might feel useless and a burden to family and friends. By listening and encouraging them to share their story, a new purpose for living can be found and new goals can give life added meaning.
Ove is a man who feels like his life has no meaning. And on the surface, Ove is easy to dislike. He is a grumpy man who wants to be left alone. Everything in his life must be just so and when we meet him things are not right in his life, and he cannot imagine they will/can ever be right again. I hope you’ll join Ove on his journey through grief, finding a new purpose (even if he doesn’t want one), and love. It is a two tissue book. (My Mom and I agree on that).
“One finds a way of living for the sake of someone else’s future. And it wasn’t as if Ove also died when Sonja left him. He just stopped living. Grief is a strange thing” (326).
Warning-due to the themes in this book, if you are actively grieving the death of a loved one, this may not be the right book for you at this time. Instead I would recommend The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper which also explores themes of grief only in a more lighthearted way.

A Thank You to Up with People

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A Thank You to Up with People
Last Fall my husband and I traveled 5 hours to see an Up with People (UWP) show. It had been 11 years since our last show. If you are not familiar with UWP, it is a fantastic organization that has spent the last 50 years asking us to see each other as human beings, to work together for change, and to spread a message of hope and peace.
I first saw UWP in Sharon, Pennsylvania at a show with my grandparents when I was young. I remember loving the show and leaving singing the theme song with my sister. In 2006, I hosted a staff member and a cast member when they came to Wisconsin.
As I was enjoying the most recent show, I realized I need to thank UWP. Without UWP, I may never have met my husband. I married an Uppie (an UWP alum). He traveled across the United States, Canada, Norway, and Japan with UWP. My California born and raised husband moved to Wisconsin to attend college because of UWP. And we met in that Wisconsin town. So, I’d like to thank UWP for the ways it changed and shaped my husband’s life and mine. And thank you UWP for letting me marry into the family.
If UWP is in your neck of the woods, see a show or better yet become a host family. (When former cast mates get together, they always remember and share stories about host families).
If more people were for people
All people, everywhere
There’d be a lot less people to worry about
And a lot more people who care.
More than 50 years later and the theme song is still challenging us and calling us to work for hope and peace in our part of the world! Thank you Up with People!

Benediction using John 3: 1-17 (Trinity Sunday)

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Benediction using John 3: 1-17 (Trinity Sunday)
Go out into God’s world as those born of water and Spirit. Go as those inspired and excited to know that “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world”. No, in fact, our God sent Jesus into the world so that the world might be saved through him. Go as those living in the mystery of the Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit. Go knowing you are loved and are called to love each other. Amen!

Book Review-God, Improv, and the Art of Living

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God, Improv, and the Art of Living 
MaryAnn McKibben Dana
What did I know about improv before reading this book? Only that it was something I never wanted to do and even felt uncomfortable watching in case someone might ask me to come up on the stage. And yet, since I loved MaryAnn McKibben Dana’s previous book, Sabbath in the Suburbs, I knew there would be something for me in this book and I was right.
As I sat down at my desk (that I rarely use) to write this review, I found it hard to find the exact right words to describe how much I enjoyed this book. So, I looked around on my desk to see what had been sitting here for a long time without being give much attention. I found a package of cards I purchased from Suzanne L. Vinson at Silver Tree Art. I read these words, “Start where you are. Become your authentic self. Show up. Listen without judgement. Know you are enough. Be brave.” The words on these cards were what I learned from these pages. By encouraging us to look at life through the eyes of improv, this book is inviting us to do the exact same things described on these cards. Using current examples, personal stories, and Scripture, we read how our lives are already inspired by improv and we can embrace the uncertainties by putting the play of improv to work in our lives. “Say yes. Say and. Train your vision. Find your troupe. Find the right structure. Live more deeply. Go off-plan.” These are the seven principles and sections of this book. In each principle, you’ll see how you can live a life of improv. When I finished the book, I was delighted to read “Bringing Improv to Life: Exercises for Individuals and Groups”. If I still worked in youth ministry, I would be using the group exercises regularly. They are perfect for groups of all ages to get them to play together. The individual exercises are a great way for you to reflect on your reading and how improv fits into your life and faith.
“We meet an improvising God constantly in Scripture. God experiments, changes God’s mind, and works in partnership with God’s people to bring about the Yes that’s at the heart of improv–and also the gospel” (23).
I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to read how their faith fits in with their daily life. Read this book. It does not disappoint, and you might even learn something.

Abide with Me

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Sometimes in conversations with others I find myself drawn to a hymn as a result of words spoken. Abide with Me reminds me of God’s constant presence in our lives even during the most difficult days. It reminds me that no matter how often I feel that others let me down or disappoint me, God never does. So, I hope you’ll find words that bring you comfort on hard days and you will always know that no matter where you go or what happens, God abides with you.

 

“Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.”

Gracious God, I need your presence. I need to know you are with me right now and always. The sun has set and I need you.

“When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me. ”

I feel all alone. No one understands what is happening. Why am I all by myself facing this? God hear my cry and be here with me.

“Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away.
Change and decay in all around I see.
O Lord who changes not, abide with me.”

My life is slipping away and will end before I am ready. All I see are changes except in you, God. Your love and mercy are constant and I need your stability in my life when everything else keeps changing.

“I need your presence every passing hour.”

“I need thee every hour. Every hour I need thee.”

“What but your grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like yourself my guide and strength can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.”

Whatever happens God, your presence is always with me. Thank you, God! On the good days and the terrible days, I know you abide with me. Amen.

Waiting and Grace

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Recently I found myself waiting and waiting. It seemed there was nothing I could do until I heard from someone else on what to do next. And so I waited. I fixed myself a cup of tea. I put a load of laundry in the washer. I searched my blog for how many times I had written about waiting. And then, I waited some more.

For most of us, much of what we do in our work and personal lives depends on others, and other people depend on us. As I sat waiting I was wondering who out there might be waiting for me to complete something so they could move on to another task. The more I thought about that the more I realized that this was changing from thoughts on waiting to thoughts on grace. As I kept thinking and typing, I could feel myself becoming less frustrated. There are times I had dropped the ball and forgotten to follow up with someone. Most likely more times than I am even aware of because some people are too kind to tell me when I mess up. I do not know why writing this out has changed my attitude and yet it has. So my prayer for you today is that when you are tired of waiting and feeling frustration you will pray for the person and offer them grace because we all make mistakes and we all need grace.

God of Grace and Goodness, It is so hard to wait for someone else. I have so much to do that I can’t get started on yet because I am waiting. And yet, I wonder how many times I have made others wait for me. Grant me your peace as I offer some grace and a little more of my time. Send your peaceful presence into my thoughts and heart, so I may share your peace with others. And help others to grant me grace when I am the reason for their frustration. Help us to see how our lives are connected, Loving God. Amen.