StoryFormed

George Herbert Poem {Lent}

2012-02-29T22:05:00.001-08:00

The Sinner

Lord, how I am all ague, when I seek

What I have treasur'd in my memory!

Since, if my soul make even with the week,

Each seventh note by right is due to thee.

I find there quarries of pil'd vanities,

But shreds of holiness, that dare not venture

To show their face, since cross to thy decrees:

There the circumference earth is, heav'n the centre.

In so much dregs the quintessence is small:

The spirit and good extract of my heart

Comes to about the many hundredth part.

Yet Lord restore thine image, hear my call:

And though my hard heart scarce to thee can groan,

Remember that thou once didst write in stone.

~George Herbert

Special thanks to Lent and Beyond for posting this poem the other day.

My French Press Life {Lent}

2012-02-28T13:36:00.001-08:00

Everybody loves a good cup of coffee right? Except when what they want is a clear, fresh glass of water...

Sometimes my life is like this french press. There are bits and pieces of coffee floating around in the hot water - you know...my junk, my sin. In order to avoid drinking these, I slowly, with my own effort, push the plunger down. It catches all those unappetizing granules and traps them deep, deep below.

I am pleased with myself; proud of my effort to get rid of these visible particles. After all, I have tamed and managed them through my own effort. I smile. (Actually it is more of a slightly arrogant grin.)

But then Jesus looks at me, holds out His cup and says, "Give me a glass of water."

My brow furrows and I feel sick to my stomach. All I have to offer is a stained, black liquid. And no amount of my effort can push the brown away.

I look at Jesus holding my pot of brown - the parfait of squished junk at the bottom and a sloshy brown liquid above. I sheepishly shrug my shoulders, hang my head and whisper...

"Jesus, if You are willing, You can make me clean."

Then I look up to find Him smiling as He says, "Now you get it."

What To Give Up? {Lent}

2012-02-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

What will your Lenten journey entail this year? What are you giving up for Lent?

I asked God what He wanted me to give up. And His answer?

Sleep - get up early for time set apart to meet with Him

and

Self-absorption - evidently this will be the primary topic of our conversations!!

Beware of mirrors

They lead us not to see ourselves

But love ourselves

Like poor Narcissus,

Who, grasping at his image died.

They say that floating in the

Water just above his

Wide-eyed, silent face

There was a butterfly.

Had he let it lead him into wonder,

He might have loved science, not himself,

And lived to cure the world of plague.

-Calvin Miller

(Requiem for Love)

Lent 2012 {Lent}

2012-02-24T18:08:00.002-08:00

I found myself standing on a stage, in a dark room with one, single, bright, blinding light shining on me. I tried to shield my eyes from the searing light in order to see who was behind it, but of course, I knew. The words of Psalm 51 illumined so brightly - fueled by the Author's power. The light was not war, but pure, crisp, almost a tangible wall and the Holder of the spotlight was unrelenting. I stood here, at my entrance to Lent and the discomfort was unbearable.

I come from a stream of Christianity that does not observe Lent and this year I understand that much clearer. Lent is exposure; Lent is discomfort; Lent is the caught child looking down at her shoes nervously twisting her ankles, rolling back and forth from tow to heel. Lent - with its searing "caught you" light - forces that same child to turn her pockets out, exposing the junk she wishes could remain hidden.

In short, Lent exposes sin front and center....and leaves it there for a full 40 days.

There are no Hallmark cards for Lent. It is not a holy day that the rest of the world wants to co-opt. In my tradition, we believe we are sinners, but we like to move quickly to God's love and grace and much more pleasant sentiments. But I've come to believe that Lent is exactly for those same believers...who having grown lazy have begun to drift slowly away from our First Love.

But Lent is all grace and love of God because it exposes our fractional living. We live half-this and a quarter-that - mixing concoctions that work for us. Lent turns our graduated cups upside down and empties us....in order to lead us to Wholeness.

But wholeness does not come easy. It takes us being willing to remain on the dark stage in the light of Divine Interrogation for 40 days. We must not our head "yes" to the convicting words of the great Lenten Psalm 51..."Thou art justified when You speak", and "You desire truth in the inmost being".

It means being emptied, pockets shaken out, nowhere to hide and remaining in the raging love of God.

O Lord, give us the courage and stamina to make this journey!

Prayer and a Picture

2012-01-05T17:02:00.000-08:00

God of the morning winter sky

Half-cloudy, full of foreboding omens

Half-gloriously light, bathed in golden sunrise

You are God of both

{selah}

And as I stand on the precipice

Of what is called today

Enable me to follow You

In whichever direction You choose

New Year Prayer by Christine Sine

2012-01-01T20:49:00.000-08:00

Saw this prayer over on my friend Christine's website....thought I'd share it here.

God may I welcome this new year without fear or regret,
Secure in the certainty of your promises,
May I live in anticipation of its beauty,
And be prepared to embrace its challenges,
May I look for your love in every moment,
And listen for your voice in every sound,
May I see your image in every stranger,
And exalt in your glory expressed in all your creation,
May I learn to live in the place of trust,
Remembering always that the future is in your hands.

AMEN!!!

Christmas Eve {End of Advent}

2011-12-23T20:49:00.000-08:00

Did you know without even realizing it,you probably reaped the benefits of at least five hinges before yougot here this afternoon?

The hinge is an interesting contraptionisn't it? Two pieces of metal with the kicker being the pin thatcan, and does, literally take things in a whole different direction.

Did you know we gather tonight tocelebrate the benefit of another hinge? Except it is no ordinaryhinge, but a hinge of history. Somewhere in Bethlehem, many, manyyears ago, a baby's birth changed everything. The long, straightwall of history bent.... History itself hinged and went in anentirely different direction.

And the pin of this hinge of history isa tiny little word...and a preposition at that...the word WITH. We read thewords from the first chapter of Matthew, “ All this took place tofulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virginwill conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call himImmanuel”- which means “God with us”.

God WITH us. WITH is the pivot point. WITH takes everything in a new direction.

The last candle of Advent representsJesus – this “God with us”. The central location of thecandle among the others reminds us that the “God with us” isthe pivotal point. All the other candles hinge on that center one.

Because WITH is a word of hope – Someone now knows our deepest longings and with Him, all things arepossible.

WITH is a word of love – because Heopens His arms and welcomes us into the family picture

WITH is a word of joy – because wecan see we are not alone

WITH is a word of peace – we know wecan rest because we are held in Strong Arms.

WITH is a together word. It brings twothings together and allows them to go in a whole new direction.

WITH changes everything.

The whole timeline of the planetshifted that night. God came into the world a whole new way, inflesh and blood, and history hinged. It was no longer just God orjust us, but God WITH us. That was good news then...and it is goodnews now. And that, if we let it, can be the hinge that opens ourlives in a whole different direction.

Held {Advent 4)

2011-12-19T08:45:00.000-08:00

Little ones instinctively know when they are being held, don't they? We can put them on the softest blankets,press a button to create the sound of an artificial heartbeat, even dim the lights and control the temperature. But they will still stretch and fuss, even just a little, as though we've placed them on burlap and there is no position comfortable. There are little whimpers, jerky movements with the hands and feet which startles them all the more and no amount of "shhhhhhh" and patting them on the back seems to bring peace.

However....scoop that same child into your arms and a magic spell is cast over them; eyes close and they fall into the most peaceful slumber imaginable. Their whole body relaxes at the touch of skin; the sound of little breaths become rhythmic and calm. Though they may be bent and folded in funky ways, defying all chiropractic knowledge, they find their perfect "sleep number" on hard working biceps. Amazing!

The 4^th candle of Advent represent peace.

Peace – it is a word we throw around a lot in our world, but it means more than stopping wars or having a little peace and quiet. Peace (the kind God talks about)is a word that literally means wholeness, health, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.

See, in some ways, we havea lot to learn from little ones, because they instinctively knowparts of this peace God talks about:

When they are in the arms of a parent or loved one, they know they are in right relationship.They know that in being held, the world is made right. They know,within an embrace, they can rest because there is safety and soundness in those arms.

And once in those arms,they give in to total trust. They don't ask where they are being taken nor worry about what is going on around them. They are not thinking about their surroundings nor are they trying to create peaceful feelings. It is not even really about them...it is about the arms that hold them. They trust the arms are strong enough to hold them and won't drop them Babies simply knows they are in arms who will take care of them..and can rest peacefully in that.

Before they even totally understand who we are, they identify totally with the arms that hold them. They know that alone they are only a fraction and when lifted into the arms of one bigger than them, they are some how made whole. They do not have to worry there...they do not need to be fearful.

See, this is a picture of Shalom - Peace. I think God longs to scoop us up and hold us in His strong arms and all the things we see in babies are true for us in God's embrace. We knew it instinctively once as a baby and somewhere, to our detriment, we outgrew it. To learn to rest and trust in the embrace of God may be the toughest "developmental milestone" we adults need to move towards....but it is what we are made for. Babies know it, we need to learn it.

Perhaps we would do well to remember this picture this week and let's all practice giving in to the embrace of God. In our agitation and fear, it is my hope we'll remember this picture, and know we are scooped up and held securely. And as He picks us up in our frenzy, may we feel our bodies relax and go limp with complete trust. And may we, this last week of Advent, experience this Shalom-peace of God.

What Do You See? {Advent 3}

2011-12-12T09:27:00.000-08:00

When you look at a glass half filled with water, what doyou see? Do you see the glass half-empty or the glass half-full? You don't have to answer out loud, but what is your normalinclination? We all have one, right?...not just to this, but to mostthings. Our normal answer to things – the way we see.

But maybe there is another way to lookat it all together....

This is what happens when we leaveour normal and change the way we “see”. Changing our perspectivechanges everything, doesn't it?

The third candle of Advent representsJOY! Our world is not really full of this quality...watch the news,see the struggles, and hear the conversations. I think we lack somuch joy in our world because we live in the closed in world of“normal” answers instead of opening our eyesto see a new perspective. Jesus tells us...

Your eyes are windows into yourbody. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your bodyfills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed anddistrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on yourwindows, what a dark life you will have. (Matthew 6:22-23)

I think Jesus knew that Joy is alwaysa function of amazement, and amazement is always a function ofperspective. If we are going to live in joy we are going to have tochange the way we SEE!!

But isn't that the Christmas story?

Zacharias – is amazed at the messageof a baby going to be born to him and Elizabeth in their old age. In fact, the angel tell him, regarding his son, “you will have joy and gladness and many will rejoiceat his birth”

Elizabeth – is amazed to see Mary coming to visit her, so much so that she tells us "the baby leaped in my womb for Joy"

Mary – is amazed to see what God isdoing around her and in her and she gives us that joyful monologue, the Magnificat

Shepherds – are so amazed at thepronouncement of the good news of a great joy which was for allpeople that they left everything and ran to see if it was true

Wise Men – rejoiced exceedingly withgreat joy when they saw His star

Simeon and Anna – are filled with amazement and greatjoy that they were allowed to see this Child

And the common thread among all these? Each person chose to see differently...their perspective was changed. Theyleft their “normal” answers behind to really see what God wasdoing. Their perspective changed, and they entered into amazement,and amazement grew into JOY! In fact the only person I can find inthe Christmas story who does not respond with Joy is Herod....hemaintained his "normal" perspective.

So how do we – like all these –practice Joy this week? Like them, maybe we need to see differentlyand leave normal behind. But remember..Joy is always a function of amazement, andamazement is always a function of perspective. If we are going tolive in joy we are going to have to change the way we SEE!!.

So let's keep a list this week of all the events, people, things, and situations that amaze us. They can be really big, or really, really small, but either way, let'sopen our eyes, let's change our perspective, let's be amazed, and maywe watch all this make room for joy to grow.

Awkward Family Pictures - Advent 2

2011-12-03T21:47:00.001-08:00

I got my first Christmascard this week...Do you ever notice how the photo Christmas cards wereceive always portray everyone color coordinated, smiling, andbeautiful? We like to be sure we look cleaned up before we send apicture out for everyone to see, right? Of course, I understand, we are not super thrilled tosend awkward or embarrassing photos of ourselves to our friends andfamily...

Here are just a few photosyou probably won't be receiving this year:

(Taken from www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com)

And then there is thisone...

Maybe it doesn't LOOK like an awkward family photobecause we often do a good job at “cleaning it up”. But let'sthink about this...

Mary – a teenagegirl who claims she has been talking to angels and is tellingeveryone she is pregnant because of God.

Joseph – perhapsthe most normal of the bunch but claims to have received messages indreams and continues to hang out with that “crazy” girl, Mary.

Shepherds – whoprobably look less like what we see here and more like one of theguys off The Deadliest Catch – dirty, smelly, and pretty rougharound the edges

Wise Men – who,whether or not they were there on the exact night, are somecombination of Eastern religious guys and astrologers (which wasn'treally looked favorably upon)

Add the ADD additionto the picture in the form of the angels – who are loud, getting upin everyone's face, singing, emitting intense light, and declaringproclamations at the top of their lungs.

And the crazy thing isthat this is the family picture God has chosen...and He doesn't tryto clean it up! While we might not want any of these people at ournext family reunion, God is not embarrassed by any of them!

The 2^nd candleof Advent represents Love. I think of the verse we all probably knowso well:

For God so loved theworld that he sent His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shouldnot perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

But let's look at thatverse in light of our awkward family photo....

“For God so loved Maryand Joseph that He sent His Son, to invite them into the familypicture”

For God so loved those messy, rough shepherds that He sent His Son, to invite them into the familypicture

For God so loved some spazmo angels that He sent His Son, and invited them into the familypicture

For God so loved even those star-reading foreigners that He sent His Son, to invite them into the familypicture

And if we listen closely,I think we can hear the Spirit say to us...”For God so loved youthat He sent His Son, to invite you into the family picture."

And the great thing isthis family picture – God's family picture – is that it is notabout the crazy, messy, bewildered, doubting, foreign, broken, spazmopeople. It is a picture of His enormous love. And God is notembarrassed! Without any cleaning up, we all get invited into the picture!

If you are up for it, thisweek we can practice Advent again in one of two ways...

If you have a cell phone, take a not-so-flattering picture of yourself and save it as your wallpaper this week. Every time you use your phone and see it, let it remind you of God's great love for you no matter what you look like!

Or...each time you pass a photograph in your home, or receive a photo Christmas card in the mail, let it stop you and may you hear God'sinvitation to us, “I love you! I am not embarrassed of what youlook like...welcome to the family picture!”

Follow the Clue {Advent 1}

2011-11-25T15:32:00.001-08:00

As our son was watching the History channel the otherday, I heard a story , an ancient myth really, of a guy who wassentenced to be thrown into an unescapeable labyrinth. Amaze made up of such twists and turns that even the designer had adifficult time finding his way out. No one had ever come out ofthe labyrinth. It was an impossible feat. However, the man whowas sent into the labyrinth though was secretly given a gift of aball of thread in order to find his way out again. And thisball of string was called a “clue”. He was literally given aclue to find his way out! He was to attach it to the door of thelabyrinth after he was closed in, and after all his wandering, hecould follow it back to the beginning.

In some ways, Advent is like that for me. Ioften find myself stuck in the endless labyrinth of life, the holidayseason, busyness, buying, parties, messiness, and just the chaos ofeveryday. But Advent, like that ball of twine – like thatclue - tugs at me and draws me out. It leads me back to thebeginning of a story I stake my life on. It is a clue thatleads me back to the door of an obscure stable somewhere in Bethlehemwhere God did impossible things. It leads me back to the hopethat God is still in the business of doing impossible things on thisplanet!

The first candle of Advent we light is the candle ofHope. We follow the "clue" and we see the hope theIsraelites had for a Messiah to come.

Is. 9:1-7

The people who walk in darkness
Will see agreat light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light willshine on them.

For a child will be born to us, a son will begiven to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
AndHis name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
EternalFather, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase ofHis government or of peace,
On the throne of David andover his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justiceand righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal ofthe LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

Advent...at least this week...is a CLUE for us – tolead us back and to remind us not to lose hope. That God will dowhat He says He will do. To remind us that God is still in thebusiness of showing up...and we can place our hope in Him.

So...would you practice Advent with me this week? But you need to find a piece of string, please . Maybe you feel a bit like the guythrown in the labyrinth.... well, this (the piece of string) is your clue. Would youtie it to your keychain or a necklace, or the steering wheel of yourcar or your finger or someplace you will see it often....and when youdo see it this week would you let it be the "clue" thatleads you? Would you let it lead you, in that moment, back tohope in God to do the impossible again this week?