is God in their tummies?

The other day Kajsa flustered me. Completely out of the blue, she asked something about God. I forget what the question was, but my answer was, “God is inside all of us.”

“What?” she asked…

“God is in all of us.. in our hearts” I said.

“Oh. That’s weird,” she said, running off to something else.

The next night she and I were watching “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”, and again, out of the blue, Kajsa brought up God: “Is God in their tummies, too?”

“What?” I asked… 

“God. Is GOD inside THEIR tummies too?”

“Whose tummies?” I asked.

“Goofy, Mickey, Pluto!!! Is God inside their tummies?”

Oh dear. Do I tell her now that Goofy & Co. aren’t real? Nope. How could I do this without lying, and without crushing her….? I thought quickly, that hey, God created the creators of these wonderful characters… so.. I could cover. Maybe not the most theologically accurate decision, but hopefully not heresy. “Well, you mean their hearts? Is God in their hearts? Sure, God’s inside them, too.”

“Yeah”, she said.. “‘Cause there’s not enough God for all those tummies!”

Advent Photo Journey 2010-Intro

A photo a day during Advent, perhaps a brief reflection a day. Reflecting, visually and verbally, on an Advent scripture passage, or on a general Advent theme. Sounds simple enough, right? Right. I’ve done this for several years now, as have a few friends. But this year I’m doing it a bit differently. I’m going to reflect on an upcoming Sunday’s scripture, rather than on a Sunday that has passed.

The only problem is, Advent began 16 minutes ago (as I write this). I’m already behind! I was going to start this past week, reflecting on tomorrow’s Scripture passages. I was going to enter the 2010 season of Advent more reflective, more mindful of God and God’s word. I was going to enter this season feeling ready. Not behind. At least not with this one piece of my life.

I did begin taking photos on Thanksgiving day. So I’ll post those in a bit. And today, the first Sunday of Advent, will simply have several posts. Posts with good intentions.

Ready or not, Advent is here.

Good Samaritan preaching…

I’m preaching this Sunday, and the text is Luke 10:25-37… or, as many of us know it, “The Parable of the Good Samaritan”. As I’m thinking about the text, the message–or many messages–and the potential directions for preaching, I came across this interesting piece. Apparently it’s by a Barbara Johnson, though in my initial research I couldn’t figure out who this Barbara Johnson is… but apparently it was printed in “Ecunet, Homiletics”.. not sure if that means Homiletics magazine, or what.. but, here it is.. clever. Good. Interesting. If any of you have seen this, and know who Barbara Johnson is, feel free to let me know.

A man fell into a pit and couldn’t get himself out.

A subjective person came along and said, “I feel for you down there.”

An objective person came along and said, “It’s logical that someone would fall down there.”

A Pharisee said, “Only bad people fall into a pit.”

A mathematician calculated how he fell into the pit.

A news reporter wanted an exclusive story on his pit.

A fundamentalist said, “You deserve your pit.”

An IRS man asked if he was paying taxes on the pit.

A self-pitying person said, “You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen my pit.”

A charismatic said, “Just confess that you’re not in a pit.”

An optimist said, “Things could be worse.”

A pessimist said, “Things will get worse.”

Jesus, seeing the man, took him by the hand and lifted him out of the pit!

And then I found this great image of artwork, called “Portrait of You as the Good Samaritan”. You may need to scroll to the right to get the full image. It’s also good, interesting, and makes me think.

Friday’s Pic: Moon and Cross

Moon and Cross

Originally uploaded by cathyse97.

“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1) .. it’s easy to give thanks to God when looking at a gorgeous moon, a beautiful cross on a beautiful church.. It’s easy to remember God’s steadfast love… to feel God’s steadfast love.

I love this view. The photo, not so much–but you know how I feel about my camera being in the shop. Still, I love the view. I love walking the grounds of the church at night, with Abby… and looking up.

The challenge is to look “up” throughout the day. Not only when the beautiful cross and moon are noticeable, but all the time. To look up at the cross, to look to God for guidance… to give thanks at all times.. to remember the steadfast love of God…. at all times.

uphill

uphill, wrong direction

Originally uploaded by cathyse97.

My camera is in the shop again. I’m trying not to dwell on the fact it was acting up enough that I took it to get fixed, even during this Lenten Photography season. Oh well. Today’s photo is taken with my computer, on “Photo Booth”, which isn’t as great as I’d like, but there you have it. Such is life.

This Sunday’s Palm Sunday scripture is from Luke 19.. the text where Jesus sends two of his disciples out to get the colt. The first couple verses of the passage say that Jesus was heading up to Jerusalem. It seems that Jesus had been in Jericho. Jerusalem is south of Jericho, and yet, it’s “up” to Jerusalem, because of the higher altitude. Up. Uphill. It seems to me that Jesus’ entire ministry on earth was an uphill journey… Uphill, and the wrong direction–not the direction that the world would have expected or wanted him to go.

And then there’s this coming week: Holy Week, but I doubt that was its name that first Holy Week. I bet it was more like, “This week was the worst ever….” until Sunday, of course. But I digress. Jesus’ uphill journey was, obviously, worth it.. So we Christians believe. And yet it had to be hard. To be climbing uphill, and occasionally slipping back down, then climbing some more… then slipping back down. The disciples got it, then they didn’t. People liked Jesus… then they were offended by him. The healings worked… then the religious authorities harassed him for healing on the Sabbath.. lots of uphill stuff.

It reminds me a bit of Chutes & Ladders. A teeny bit. Up the ladder, down the slide.. up the ladder, down the slide… only the slide isn’t a fun slide like at a water park, or a playground, but a rusty, dirty, probably-broken slide… I recognize how small, inconsequential and ridiculous this comparison is. It does no justice to Christ’s uphill journey for each one of us. But it is a small way to rethink this coming week… and how our choices and lifestyles might follow in the uphill footsteps of Jesus Christ.

“Catch-Up”: Thursday… filled with laughter

filled with laughter

Originally uploaded by cathyse97.

Psalm 126:1-3: “When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” The LORD has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.”

“our mouth was filled with laughter”. Kajsa is often filled with laughter. And her laughter often fills me with laughter.. even if I don’t feel like laughing. Often, I say. Because there are times when she’s simply stalling from doing what we’ve asked her to do. But mostly, Kajsa’s laughter is contagious. And it reminds me of what restoration feels like–restoration thanks to God’s work, God reversing fortunes.. God doing great things for us. Where does that leave those who don’t know this feeling? or feel this, when things are going better? Sometimes laughter is possible, but mostly it’s discouraging, when others get to laugh from the pure joy they experience.. and when some aren’t able to share that.

What’s the answer? I don’t know. I’ve been in both positions. And of course I prefer the laughing, because of God doing what I consider to be great things in my life, or the lives of others. Of course. But I also am discouraged at the amount of continued chronic pain that others (and myself, at times) experience…. how long, O God? How long until they, too get to be filled with laughter…?

Fisher Price Prodigals

son #1: in the back of the pick up truck, face turned away…can’t believe he took this drive with his father today… he just went along because he was bored, and now he has to witness this occasion…

Fri., March 12th

son #2: a daughter, in this case… can’t believe that her father saw her from the pick up truck, and didn’t turn around and drive back to the house. Can’t believe her father is running out to greet her.Can’t believe her father hasn’t even asked her where she’s been, or where the money is.. can’t believe how much her father loves her.

dog: not in the original parable, at least not divulged, if there. But I think she belongs in the Fisher Price edition of the Prodigals.

father: jumped out of the truck to greet the daughter, after driving down the long driveway everyday for years, looking for his daughter. Can’t believe his daughter is back. Sad that his son is staying in the back of the truck.

The prodigals: prodigal #1 is the daughter, who’s been known as the prodigal… prodigal #2 is the father. The word prodigal means a reckless spendthrift, an extravagant spendthrift. The father is the true prodigal because his unexpected, counter-cultural response to his daughter’s return is prodigal behavior.

joy… celebration… spring?

Spring seems to have arrived-almost. Enough that even I, full-fledged-snow-lover, am ready for Spring. I got a taste of the warm weather and sunshine last week, and it was beautiful. The spring-like fever grew for me as I noticed the lambs (I think) at the farm behind our yard/the church parking lot.

Wed., March 10th

I actually saw them from my office window yesterday, but paid more attention today. And took some photos. These three lambs jumped, ran, ran into each other, leapt over things I couldn’t really see.. they were so full of fun and joy, that I felt joyful myself. I felt like praising God, just by observing the frolicking lambs. Even the miniature horses seemed to be playful and joyful today.

Psalm 32:11 says, “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.” This follows verses about living righteously, trusting in God, confessing our sin to God. While I don’t subscribe to the theology of “Trust in God, and everything will turn out well for you”, I do believe that when we are honest with ourselves, others, and God… (confession), when we praise God, when we trust in God despite what’s happening.. when we do these, God gives us the strength to be joyful, to trust, and to keep being faithful.

It’s easier to think these things on a spring-like day, when lambs are jumping, when the weather’s warmer, when I’ve seen the emus, when we had fun swinging with Kajsa, when it was overall a good day. But even if it was a bad day, hopefully I could be glad in the Lord, and rejoice.

for three years

Three years is a lot of time. In more ways than one. A long time to have the chance to grow, a lot of chances, and second chances…

Wed., March 3rd.

A lot of time for us to give and receive grace. we would be given a lot of grace. A lot of time. A lot of chances, and second chances… for all of us. Not just the ones we’d like to put in this category, but all of us. Three years.. is a long time, in more ways than one.

In Luke 13:1-9, Jesus talks about the parable of the fig tree. A fig tree owner was frustrated at checking back for three years, and not finding any figs. The gardener asked for another year–and this time he would fertilize the tree this time. And this time, if there were no figs, then the owner could chop it down.

Three years seems like long enough for the fig tree to waste the fig tree owner’s soil, and resources, as the owner was probably paying the gardener. I hope he was. Three years is a long time for stuff to not produce fruit. A lot of wasted resources, a lot of wasted time, a lot of waste. Seemingly. Yet a lot can happen in the growth area, too.

How often have we been given another chance? Another chance to grow, to make our lives reflect the fact that we’re actually following Christ.

How has God been growing us, lately?

Re-Router

Yesterday, on my errand to Home Depot, I got to use a GPS (Global Positioning System). It was Jim’s Christmas gift. I’ve been a passenger in cars with GPS a few times, but being the driver is a whole different experience! Though I knew my route to Home Depot, so didn’t need the guidance, I turned the GPS on, so I could see the street names.

Tuesday, March 2nd

But on the return trip, I decided to test it a bit further. I tapped on the screen a couple of times until I found the “home” icon, I tapped on that, then figured out how to find an alternate route home. A shorter, back way route. Of course, I missed the first left turn. But immediately, the voice and map adjusted, and re-routed me towards home.

I sometimes wish God’s direction could be as obvious as the GPS. I wish that when God wants to re-route my spiritual (or other) direction, it would be a clear voice (not as annoying, though), with a “heads-up” (“after a quarter of a mile, turn left.”), and a labelled map.

And then I remember that if I pay attention, if I listen… if I “incline my ear”, God just might be more clear than I think. God might just be giving me a heads up that I’m not paying attention to, or that I ignored because I was busy looking elsewhere. And it’s possible that I’m not tapping into the source–my relationship with God–so that I am aware of God’s re-routing. Time to plug in.

(note: the photo is NOT the route to and from Home Depot!)