Easter inspiration and an in-process theology

From today's Easter Sunday sermon, which quoted theologian Clarence Jordan:

“The proof that God raised Jesus from the dead is not the empty tomb, but the full hearts of his transformed disciples. The crowning evidence that he lives is not a vacant grave, but a spirit-filled fellowship; not a rolled-away stone, but a carried-away church.”

I'm an ordained deacon at my church, but I'll be the first to tell people that there are days when I'm more agnostic than not. My faith journey is something I usually struggle to articulate -- and I admit I have far more questions than answers about my own beliefs and spirituality. But sometimes there are those great eureka moments where you feel like something you read or hear or think about ... just clicks. I love those moments (fleeting and rare as they are) and I felt fortunate to have one this morning when I listened to Jordan's quote. 

I know there are a lot people who believe that the Bible is inerrant. I respect those who do, but I'm not one of them. I believe the Bible is a living, breathing document and its pages have been compiled, rewritten, debated, translated, mistranslated, retold, argued, compressed, omitted and transcribed. (And that's just part of it.) I believe it's a book of metaphor, poetry, symbolism, tradition, story, history, mystery, frustration, inspiration ... well, you get the point. (I should stop before I sound too much like Rob Bell.)

What I love about this quote is that it shows that it's not really a question about whether you literally believe the Easter story as a verbatim, factual account of a series of events that happened roughly 1,980-something years ago. Instead, Easter is about everything that happened in the days, weeks, months and years after. And it's about everything that's still happening today. 

Believe what you want. Create your own theology. Find your own metaphor in the texts of a pretty magnificent story. See it as allegory, fiction or fact. But as I celebrate Easter, I find it hard to argue that a pretty powerful seed was planted in our history, and it's still bearing fruit today. 

P.S. Fun fact about Jordan... he's considered the spiritual founder of Habitat for Humanity. The more you know.

Need some help?

Still not sure on what your word of the year should be? Christine Kane just put up a cool "discovery tool" to help you figure it out. It's free to download, here.

In which I stretch.

Stretch. That's it. That's my word for 2011.

I love the literal and figurative idea of stretching. It's about reaching, pushing, and sometimes pushing through. It's about moving beyond where you are and going some place that might not feel too comfortable at first.

I want to stretch beyond who I am, which, admittedly, is someone who sometimes feels like she's prone to staying in a bit of a holding pattern. I want to push myself to try new things and learn more and generally be comfortable in a place where I might be uncomfortable. It's not about radical change, it's just about becoming more limber -- bit by bit.

For the curious: I'll take a big stretchy step in February when I take my first grad school class in spirituality at McCormick Theological Seminary. (Full disclosure: I'm auditing it, so it's not the world's biggest thing, but stretching is about baby steps!) Another one will follow in the coming weeks when I start lending a hand at my local quilt store on Saturdays.

Literally, stretch is also about committing more to yoga. I'm still sweaty from this afternoon's class (where, by the way, I rocked out the wheel pose), and I'm hoping to make it to at least one of two special workshops being held at my studio this week. One is on New Year's Eve and the other is bright and early(ish) New Year's Day. I like the idea of starting 2011 by fully embracing at least one form of the stretch plan.

Meanwhile, as I wrap up The Sparkle Initiative, I've also been thinking about way to commemorate a the year. I think I've settled on this, with a bit of tweaking.

I've been loving reading about your words of the year. (And, of course, all the posts on Christine Kane's blog where people explain what they choose and why.) Keep 'em coming.

Peace out.

Image via: Elizabeth-Mae Swenson

Word of the Year.

Last year, I decided to follow the footsteps of the inestimable Christine Kane and choose a word of the year as a way to set a personal intention for the next 12 months. After some wrangling, I went with "sparkle." (For background on the WOTY, click here. Or, better yet, click on over to her blog and see the other words people have chosen and why.)

Eleven months and 27-ish days later, I think I gave it admirable effort. There were moments of radiance and some definite moments of ... well, not. But like I said here, my goal with sparkle was simple.

"I feel like sparkle just ... fits. Everywhere. It encompasses so many of the areas of my life I'd like to improve. It's a reminder of how to behave. What kind of result I should seek from my actions. How to treat others. And how to be."

Now it's almost 2011 (gasp, wasn't it August like 3 seconds ago?) and I've got to come up with another word. And, of course, so do you. So if you played along last year -- or want to get in on the action, it's not too late to pick a word that defines your intention for the year.

Think about it. Feel free to post your word and your rationale below and on your own blog. And let me know how you did on your word for 2010. When I pick my word, I'll put up a post here. And, like last year, I'm happy to make little photographic presents for you guys to help carry you and your word through the year.

Happy thinking.

Lots of love,
Your Sparkler.

Made to kick some ass.

There's a great blog post up on Jezebel about body image, weight loss, healthy, lady mags and society that is so amazing it just begs to be shared.

As someone who's struggled with weight and body image for the better part of my life, and is now trying to accept that it's not about how look, but I feel, I love the idea that exercise and eating right isn't about conforming to some size-six ideal that we think we should be. (Because, er, size six ain't never gonna happen with these hips.) Instead, it's about growing strong, and being strong, so we can do the things we love. Regardless of our size.

This paragraph is just full of awesomeness:

Your body was made for so much more than being looked at, deprived of food, and enjoyed by others. Your body was made for kicking some ass.


And so is this part:

Physical fitness doesn't have to be about anyone else but you or about anything else but becoming stronger. It's time we stopped associated exercise with a form of conformity and surrender, because do so is to deprive yourself of the potential that your body offers you.

And this part:

Maybe we should stop letting those things dictate how we see our bodies and start seeing our bodies as instruments of power rather than smorgasbords for others to feast on. Your body isn't a passive painting or a photograph, your body is a tool.

I think that's one of the many reasons why I'm loving yoga. I took a beginners' workshop this summer and have been going at least once a week, almost every week, since June. I'm not the most bendy person in my class, in fact, I'm far from it. But I love the way I feel when I'm doing it. And I love that I can feel myself growing stronger each week, holding tree pose higher or longer than I have, making my way -- wobbly arms and all -- through side plank.

So, amen to Morning Gloria for her post. And here's to all of us being strong. And kick ass.

Love. Love. Love.

Written by Katie at Y our Courageous Life and posted on Kind Over Matter.

Awesome sentiment, don't you think?

A prayer for peace.

I mistakenly thought it was my turn to offer a prayer for peace during today's church service. So I spent a bit of time last night trying to put pen to paper (or in this case, fingers to keys) to come up with something to say about the topic. Given the past events of the week, I wasn't exactly lacking material.

Since it's an ungiven prayer, I thought I'd offer it up here. (Apologies if prayers aren't your thing.)

God, if ever there was a time to pray for peace, it’s now.

We’re too easily swayed by voices that seek to divide us. The news this week has been filled with daily reminders that all too often our society defaults to hatred and separation, instead of remembering Jesus’ mandate of love and radical inclusion.

We are too eager to separate ourselves. Us and them. The haves and the have nots. The right. And the unrighteous.

And so today, we ask you to help us remember the importance of peace -- in all its forms. Within ourselves, in our homes, our communities, between orientations and nations, races and religions.

The Psalmists remind us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. So we ask you today to help us honor that gift, and make sure peace stays with us during every step we take, filling our hearts and our minds as we walk in this world.

Amen.

Please pass the peace to your neighbor.

Books to live by.

I'm a word nerd. A book addict. A bibliophile. But there's one book that I will always and forever (and once more, just for feeling) give people as a gift.

It's The Alchemist by the amazing Brazilian author Paulo Coelho.

It's not my favorite book by him. (That honor goes to Veronika Decides to Die.) But I can't help but feel like it's one of those books that sticks with you and finds a way of being pulled off your shelf when you need it the most. The ideas of following a journey, personal legends and the decisions that come with marching through life _ not just as a passive participant but as an actor _ are just so, so poignant. And powerful.

Some of my favorite quotes come from this book:

"When you want something, all the world conspires in helping you to achieve it."

"He had worked for an entire year to make a dream come true, and that dream, minute by minute, was becoming less important. Maybe because that wasn't really his dream."

"We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand."

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself."

I love this book so much I made my friend Sebastian, who is currently kicking it in New York City for a few weeks, buy it immediately. Or else face bodily harm.


As you can see from this picture he sent me today, he wisely obliged.

So, tell me my dear blog peeps... What about you? What's your favorite book to give people? Why?

Intolerance.

Because I can't stop hitting "publish post" tonight... (It may be the wine.)

And because I can't get certain news stories out of my head ... (It may be the job.)

And because I think this is worthy of some good debate... (It may be the Presbyterian polity wonk in me.)

I'll pose this question that I'm currently wrestling with. (And yes, I know I ended my sentence with a preposition. Shut up.)

Am I allowed to be intolerant of intolerance? Because I am, but then I feel hypocritical.

Discuss.

Kindness

One of my favorite blogs is Kind over Matter, which is like a daily dose of feel good moments. When The Modern Gal and I were talking about it sometimes feels like the world is going to hell in a jerky-mean-asshole of a handbasket, it's the kindness of the things like the card drops on that Website that make me feel better.

This video exemplifies so much of the philosophy that I love and I wish we, as a society, embraced more often.

Pour Kind Over Matter from Kind Over Matter on Vimeo.

Peace.

Wise words

"You drown not by falling into a river, but by staying submerged in it."

As tweeted today by Paulo Coelho.

God. In brief.

N.B.: If faithy type things make you squeamish, come back next time for more tawdriness or sewing thingies!!

The pastor at my church challenged our congregation to get in on a previous blog challenge over at Patheos.

The assignment: Describe who or what is God in ... wait for it ... 100 words or less.

There were tons of responses -- many of them powerful. She specifically cited this entry by educator and community builder Callid Keefe-Perry.

Bird Shadows/Holy spirit. My God is in the next room, cooking unseen feasts and humming; moments of ache before the rain when the whole June cloud is ready to burst through though no drop has yet fallen; dandelion blades that insist adamantly they must reside directly in the middle of your neighbor's blacktopped suburban driveway; sights of the shadow of a bird flitting by the sill near the bed of an aging Grace, who can no longer move but counts herself lucky because at least she can still see. This is my God: expectant and grinning, wild and near.

This is SO up my alley. I mean, I may be verbose. But damn do I appreciate a good, briefly written piece. So I decided to accept her challenge. And now I want to pass it along to you. Your God doesn't have to be one of a particular faith (or any faith for that matter. I believe God is unique to everyone.)

Here's my answer in 99 words. Maybe on a different day at a different time, I'd write something different. But for now, here's mine.

My God is an affirmation, loving me simply because I am. He is raw, strong and powerful. She is subtle, gentle and soft. God has high standards (like Tim Gunn) and says to me: "Make it work." Then "Let me help." God is the face of a red and frightened newborn that bursts, screaming into this world. God is the peaceful, gnarled hands of a grandmother waiting to go home. God is dichotomous and mysterious. Confusing. Simple. Beyond and within. My God is along for the ride, happy to be by my side. God knows the feeling is mutual.

So take some time and think about it. And then take a stab at the assignment in the comments, on your own blog, in your journal, or where ever.

Peace. And good luck.

Scenes from a Sunday morning.

Easter dawned dark with an angry sky and an angrier wind. Some of the 30 of us gathered along the shores of Lake Michigan were wrapped in blankets by the time the service began at 7 a.m. Some wore gloves and scarves. Others didn't even bring coats.


But as we stood huddled together in a circle, singing songs of praise about the miracle of Easter, the sky began to soften. The sun fought through the clouds.


And it wasn't really that cold any more.



Light overcoming dark. Warm replacing winter. Rebirth defeating death. It was a fitting metaphor for an Easter morning.

The seagulls were squawking. (Was our singing THAT bad?)


The sun won. And by the time the service was done and we were headed to church for breakfast to finish the rest of a long day of services, it was radiant outside. And our prayer flags flapped in the breeze inviting people in.


Inside, light streamed through the windows.


The flowers smelled like spring.


And we were so, so happy.

I speak for the trees.

I felt like I should save this for Earth Day, but oh well. I came across these tree trunks-turned-public folk art. Is it weird to be captivated by the eyes? They're so ... Well, I love them.



Since it's Holy Week and Passover and I'm trying to be extra mindful about the Celtic spirituality idea of finding holy in the ordinary, I thought I'd remind us of this quote from the Lorax:

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.

I get introspective. And stuff.

Consider this a PSA to let you know that I have a guest blog post over at my church's young adult blog.

It's about the topic of discipleship. (Don't worry, I think it's a super-churchy, weird word, too.) It's my first real stab at blogging openly about my faith. So I'd love some feed back if you're of that persuasion. Or any persuasion. Or no persuasion at all.

I really wrestled with whether to post the piece on this blog. Since it doesn't really fit in with this blog, I'm linking to it for your reading pleasure.

Click on over and join the discussion. (Here's a hint: I think discipleship is just another synonym for being a good human being.)

Peace.

Do not let this universe regret you.

For more of the amazing poet/spoken word artist Marty McConnell, whose work focuses on the intersection of sexuality, religion, gender and history, check out her Web site.

Fabulous sentiment

Jason sent me this quote. I love the sentiment. Happy new year.

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself. I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return." _ Neil Gaiman


Photo via: Michael Johnson Flickr

I'm taking requests!

So, it appears some of you hearted my fancy pants Scrabble pieces picture of my word of the year. I'm happy to make you one of your very own! Just drop me a comment and make sure I have a way to reach you by e-mail. (And let me know if you want B&W, color or both and if you want an "I will" added.)



Lookie, I already made one for the always fab, Ms. H!



All I ask in return is you do something all nice-like to someone else in the next week. Pay it forward, ya know?

Happy 2010, y'all! I'm flipping '09 the bird. Catch you crazies next year!!

In which I sparkle.

Way back yonder, I wrote about Christine Kane's word of the year project to pick a word that establishes your intention for the year. It's a word that guides you through the year and shapes your intention. Think of it is as the better-than-a-resolution New Year's activity.

Anyhoodles, I was struggling to come up with one of my own. I'd been tossing over a few ones: moderation, simplify, release, focus. All seemed to fit. And none seemed to fit. Meanwhile, I'd been yapping away to anyone who would listen about how cool this idea is. At two other friends thought they'd get on board. They picked words right away. And still, I was having trouble.

Fast-forward to this evening. I'm unpacking from a fabulous Christmas trip to see the fam in Maryland and I come across these super-cute pencils I won on Sweet Jessie's giveaway. One, which happens to be in Jessie's picture, says to "sparkle and shine." And it was like, BAM. My word. There it was.

In 2010 ...


I feel like sparkle just ... fits. Everywhere. It encompasses so many of the areas of my life I'd like to improve. It's a reminder of how to behave. What kind of result I should seek from my actions. How to treat others. And how to be.

I sort of love my word. And as a reminder, I took my Scrabble pieces and put them on my bookshelf so I have a daily reminder. So, thanks Jessie. And Christine. And everyone else. Here's to a 2010 that truly sparkles.

Have you picked a word yet? It's not too late. (Well, really, it's never too late! Get on board!)