things that breed hope.

easter thoughts

Despite the philosophical debate that has been waged for centuries, I do believe that Aristotle was right when he said that contemplation is a great form of happiness. Thinking in a meditative way is not a waste of time. To sit and be one with the world, with nature, with the cosmos; to fully know for just second your place in the world and to embrace and bathe in that moment; to get lost in the trails of thoughts that thread memory to present, pulled by the string of a wandering mind—this, to me, is full of joy, and it is often not merely satisfied in itself, but bears fruits. To think, to use my mind, this is an action of praise I believe. I am very good, I am greated with glory in mind, I am a child who is to inherit heaven and her riches, whatever that might look like. To sit with these thoughts as my company—oh, it is praise indeed. 

It is more often in these moments when my conscious is very aware that true praise erupts from deep within me. I think the best way I can celebrate today is to devote my mind to contemplating the great act of sacrifice that culminated in hopeful resurrection. I celebrate with a great hope in my heart for brighter days. I celebrate with a soul that is passionately longing for a home not of this world inside a body so present in this world, causing my actions to speak to that foreign, familiar home. I celebrate with a mind tuned to the cause of the kingdom that has not been quieted since the tomb was rolled away. Better than any human, nature daily celebrates the resurrection, and she beckons us to do so. How often we walk on her, ride past her, photograph her, lay on her, swim in her, climb on her, litter her, and cultivate her, without noticing what she is saying. Today, I devote my mind to thoughts like this. 

I am, more often than not, prone to a critical mind. On a “holiday” like today, I find myself saddened over its commercial appeal, its elaborate fashion, its traditional meal. Certainly, Christ would never prefer to be celebrated in this way. I even think of the services across the countries going the extra mile to make today extra special while in reality not of it should be extra, but normal. I should always boast of the risen Lord. His power should always make me different. His resurrection should always be my reason for rising with mind, body, and soul ready to look like him. Everyday. It is not on these days that we should look especially like him, but rather that our normal begin to transform into something especially different. I am glad for the praise the Father, Son, and Spirit receive today, overjoyed to be sure, but we (me included) ought to do this every day. For on this day we boast that he changes our lives, our very essence, giving us purpose and meaning; yet we wait a whole year to devote a thought to that change again. This Easter, I devote my thoughts, since I have been so guilty of living not so fully, to contemplating how to truly be different. Perhaps people will wonder if I have experienced some time of resurrection, because I will be so fully living, that it will seem as if I had been dead. 

This strand of thinking led me to wondering what the word easter means. I googled it. Literally, just now. Lots of good stuff. (Check out wikipedia.) My favorite etymological find is that the Finnish word for easter is related to a word that means “to be released.” If you don’t know me, the idea of jubilee (the ultimate release of the land and debts and slaves) is a big deal and has a very large theological thumbprint on my thinking. How sweet is it that Easter is our great hope that Jubilee can happen again! What a find.

Anywho, one last bit of my thoughts I shall impart before devoting more of my day to the same discipline. Lent has led to Easter and now we begin the Easter season lasting 50 days until Pentecost. Hello, church calendar. I love this, and I didn’t know this. We often stop celebrating at sun down tonight. But we are supposed to keep praising and speaking of the resurrection until we celebrate Pentecost, the giving of the Spirit, which should be quite the zealous celebration. So, even though I was just blogging extra for Lent, I’m going to keep it up for the new liturgical Easter season! Oh, how I will delight to share my thoughts with you! For it is in the thinking that I praise, in the writing that I share, and in your reading that I hope praise is offered as well!

Happy Easter! Here’s to thoughts devoted toward the cause of the Kingdom and to the season of Easter in which we shall continue to celebrate our sweet risen Lord’s impact on our lives! 

now what?

So, we get that the job is to love one another. but, that is no easy task. and if we tackle it, do we even know what it looks like? or do we just keep striving and forget that it’s right in front of us, ready to be celebrated for the small victory that it is? every time we love, we should celebrate. I think that would be sweet. 

A segment of one conversation I had today went like this: 
“you make me sweeter and nicer and kinder.”
“isn’t that what we were made to do to each other?” 

Yeah. It is. I don’t often equate love with it’s transformative action. I just leave it at love. But love changes us; it doesn’t leave us where we are, but helps us to become more like Christ, whether we know him or not. It does make us sweeter and nicer and kinder, or at least it should. Perhaps that is how the love of a true follower of Christ should be distinguished…is the love they share transforming the recipients? If not, it might just be the world’s version of love. I think the Love Christ taught will no doubt change us and then help us change others so that this place looks and feels a little bit more like heaven, rather than the hell it is for so many. 

This also makes the task of loving a bit easier for us, because we can measure it by the change that occurs. We know we are loving when the people we interact with become sweeter and nicer and kinder. Even in small interactions, true love can be insanely transformative. So, Love, but also observe those who you love and those who love you. Thank the ones who are changing you and change the ones around you. Let’s all just love and be sweeter and nicer and kinder. After all, it’s what we were made to do. 

in or out?

tonight, an interesting idea was presented; we are more often than not taught a gospel of exclusion, rather than inclusion. shun sin & shun sinners. that’s dumb.

Jesus hung out with sinners. And as I read John 13-17 for a class, the word love and the command to love one another is overwhelming. Apparently, Jesus was trying to get a point across. He even tells us that the world is going to hate us. Heck, look what the world did to Him; we put him up on a cross. We had no idea how great He was. And people now have no idea how great His message is. Love is not scary, or demanding, or oppressing, or miserable, or wretched. It is lovely and delightful and beautiful and considerate and wonderful. Love one another. He didn’t even offer the command in the negative, do not hate, because once we get how freaking awesome loving other people is, we won’t need to be told not to hate people, we will not be able to stop loving! There are people that the world hates, and I think it is those that Jesus was telling us to really look out for and love. Love the one the world rejects. Love so fervently that the world rejects you. And then love some more. 

Love the prisoners.

Love the teenage mothers.

Love murderers. Love mass murderers.

Love pedophiles and child molesters.

Love liars.

Love super conservative politicians who sound absolutely crazy.

Love liberals who seem distant and cold. 

Love people who smell, who ask you for money, who sit on street corners. 

Love. It is the one commandment. Love God and love His people. 

The gospel of exclusion keeps us safe, it keeps us in line with the world, it keeps us normal in the eyes of society, it even keeps us pretty content in our churches. But it sucks. Because it leaves people out. Love doesn’t do that. The Gospel of Inclusion is absolutely bonkers. Who wants murderers, molesters, and morons at their party? God does. Oh, how he loves us is right. OH. It’s that big. It’s that extensive. That comprehensive. OH. That’s how. and that’s how we should too. 

are you in with the gospel of exclusion and the world and the safe people?

or are you out? out of your mind, out of control, and out of all boundaries loving the people who are also created in the very same image of God that you are made in? 

psalm 51 remixed

I forget how much I love the Psalms. I forget how much I love Scripture. How unfortunate! Thank goodness for chances to reconnect with the Word that was made flesh, that gives me life, and sustains me! 

This morning, as I just noted, I meditated on Psalm 51 and decided to rewrite it for me in this time of Lent. I’d suggest that you take the time to do the same, it is really a great practice, and it was very beneficial for me this morning as I prepared myself for a new day. 

Psalm 51, my style: 

Because of your love flowing fully and freely, because of your Spirit that compassionately creates, pour down your grace, extend your arms and swallow my flesh’s defeats in your divine victory. Let your love wash over me, filling all of me, searching me out and creating a tide of repentance that will lead me to the shores of your forgiveness. 

As a daughter of Eve, I do wrong and I know that I do wrong. I am always fully aware of the sins that I do, always fully ashamed. They are present, they play back in my mind, the pervert the image of you I was created in. It is you, my Creator that I have wronged. You made me to be like you and I continually separate myself from You, disappointing the one I desire to praise. You, alone, are the one I seek forgiveness from—and it is you alone who can forgive. You wish for me to look like you, to see your face, to know your name, to give you praise. your creation recognizes you as the One—be the One who is able to call me forth from this pitiful, pathetic position to something much more holy. 

When you clean me, I will be forever clean; when you love me, I will be transformed, I will be beautiful, unmistakably a creation of Yours. Allow me your vision, your eyes, your love as I look at this world—let what has fallen away from you direct its growth back towards you and may it be unstoppable, reaching only and ever higher towards you. ‘Shine on in. Give these dead bones life.’ Look away when I don’t look like you—forget and forgive the times I sin.

Create again, recreate, renew all that is inside of me to look more like you. Let the Spirit you gave me seek you out all the more gaining knowledge and growing as all other creation grows towards the state of knowing you more fully. As frustrated and disappointed as you get, stay with me—do not desert me, but remain with me evermore as I am in a state of needing you. Let me be re-member-ed to you so that I remember what it is to be your child, the one you lavish with your love and include in your inheritance. Let your love and my un-content heart continue to seek you forever and always until your Kingdom is on earth as it is in heaven. 

Remixed. That was just a free flowing time of prayer/meditative reading, enjoy, don’t edit! Seriously, think about doing this. Super helpful for this time of repentance and gaining gratitude for the forthcoming sacrifice. 

spiritual new year.

lent is a spiritual new year. 

we make commitments, resolutions. we give up bad habits. we say we will form new ones. we look forward to an end goal, a transformation of ourselves into something better, something more like we are “supposed to be,” or how we think we should be. we do this in order that we may celebrate the small victories and then rejoice at the end if we make it. but, like new year, we disappoint ourselves. we sneak the sweet. we eat some meat. we miss a few days of reading, a few days of writing. we set aside the things that will transform us for the things that got us off the track we wanted to remain steadfast on, often because it is easier. 

I, myself, have done this. I picked up blogging, while simultaneously giving up wasting time. but after just about a month, I reverted back. I wasted time and i didn’t blog. for that week, I didn’t think about lent. I regretted not posting, but I just kept on sleeping and waking up without sharing my thoughts. I was my old self. until this morning.

I co-lead a sunday school class called the contemplative tradition, in which we appreciate the disciplines of old and survey the Word with devotional reading and reflect on religious artwork and worship by spending time with creation in the community garden. the class has really helped me to focus on this season all the more. and this morning, I was leading solo, and after looking at the lectionary texts, I picked Psalm 51 to reflect on. It was, as Scripture often is, just what I needed. It helped me to understand lent as the time where we do fail, and we recognize our shortcomings, and repentance is easier to ask for when we aren’t trying to pretend we’re so righteous. we set out to resolve and recreate ourselves in the image of God, but we fail and realize that we are human. we recognize our humanity, which helps us to think of Christ and his suffering.  

it’s almost better, I think, to be unsuccessful at whatever we set out to do/change during the Lent season; because when we fail, it is easier to be humble and ask for repentance and realize our need for it. as far as new year’s resolutions go, it really stinks to fail; but, for this spiritual new year of sorts, failing is the point. we fail and we need the resurrection and hope of new life that comes during Holy Week. 

if you, like me, have fallen short of your lenten goal; do not be disappointed, but recognize your humanity, realize that the flesh can often win out, and rejoice that God has not left us, but has chosen to redeem and recreate us. 

week 5 of lent

it is coming. He is coming. He is here, yet He is coming.

this season of lent has been quite interesting for me, as it is the first one I’ve really observed. I didn’t know exactly what to expect but I knew that I wanted to take part in the church calendar more this year than before. I am so glad that I added something (blogging), rather than giving up something. I have been hearing stories of my friends’ giving up things, and it doesn’t seem like their sacrifices are pointing them towards contemplation; but then again, I don’t think each time I’ve blogged my mind has constantly been focused on Jesus’ trials.  One thing I’ve noticed is that 40 days is a long time. SO MUCH has happened to me within the last 40 days, and before they are over, big things are still happening. 40 days is a “season.” And this season is still going, lent is still present, pointing me towards Holy Week! 

Some more observations:

Today I noticed how I have been so much more observant this year, whether it be Lent or Spring or a combination of the two, I am noticing things I have never seen before. I noticed the flowers blooming outside my office window. I noticed that sometimes you can actually see rays bursting forth from the sun. I have been more observant of people when they interact with each other, and it just makes my heart so happy. I have noticed how joyful the act of repentance can be. God has so much love and compassion, and it continually washes us clean. 

In one of my early blogs from this season, I talked about the presence of God, and how we don’t need to ask for it, but rather we need to ask for our eyes to be opened, and our hearts to be aware that He is here, always. This has been something else I have tried to be more observant of…while, I haven’t noticed it everyday of the season, I have definitely noticed that language (“presence of God”) being used more by all sorts of people, which makes me think that God is here, which makes me happy! 

I have other thoughts, but they are long enough to require another post…keep reading!

divine snorkeling.

Forgive me friends for missing a post yesterday. My sister got married & I was a little wrapped up. As she continued to celebrate throughout the day with her new hubby, my family finally had a chance to TRULY relax here in Hawaii. We headed out to the sun, and wrapped up with a little snorkeling. I forgot how much I loved being in the water. 

I used to love swimming. It was the first thing I listed on questionnaires under hobbies. It was my entire summer, every summer. My home church was a renovated recreation center, so we had a pool. Every summer, swim lessons would be held there, and for a decade, I was there with my two best friends learning strokes, breathing techniques, and later synchronized swimming. After that era ended, I moved on to mornings at swim practice for a summer league, and afternoons volunteering at swim lessons. Swimming was my thing. I loved it. 

There is something about the water for me that is so otherworldly, so exquisite, so magnificent. God created it. And every dive I take, He washes over me and engulfs me with love. It is a place where one must be completely present or disaster occurs. It is a place where you can do almost anything. It is a place where communication has to exist outside of talking, which is a nice change. God is so present to me in the water. It is just so magical and peaceful. I love the water. But for six years or so, I have rarely been in it. Today, I returned.

Snorkeling is one of the most fun things I have done. At first I freaked out. I felt like I was choking. But then, a rhythm kicked in. Breathe in. Breathe out. I’m fine. Breathe in. Breathe out. Be still. Swim. See. Fish. Here and there. Coral at every turn. Sea urchins and characters from Finding Nemo. All these things around me. With me. Creation all around me. Inside me. Me. I, made on day six, was unified with all the things made before. It was a day seven kind of moment. I think about biology classes and all the symbiotic relationships between the animals. I think about how I have those too. I am dependent on God and all this creation to just be. I just kept thinking all these wonderful, glorious things. I love snorkeling. I love the water.

I had such a divine moment there in the water. I pray that you will have a divine moment today, too. To bring back yet another part of childhood in this post, I end resonating with the nature I was a part of today:

Our God is so great, so strong and so mighty.
There’s nothing our God cannot do.  

glimpses.

I had a great day. Heck, I had a grand day. The one thing that I wanted to do was done today. I kayaked. I sea kayaked. It was seriously so grand. I couldn’t stop talking about it. And I will not if you ask me. But, I focus today on the thought process I had on my way to the activity center to participate in the kayaking adventure. The way this resort is set up completely makes me feel as if I am at summer camp. You have your room, and sometimes you have a travel buddy; you at least have a group that you are traveling with. You can get souvenirs, really dumb ones that you’ll probably later regret, but that seem so perfect at the time. You can get snacks and meals in the various dining halls/restaurants. You can sign up for activities and stay one week or two or the whole summer. You wake up early. And you stay up kinda late, and at the end of everyday you are EXHAUSTED. But kids didn’t make up this resort…adults did. Thus, my epiphany: a resort is a glimpse of summer camp, the recapturing of the most fun times had as a kid. This got me thinking about other things that are glimpses:

A resort is a glimpse of summer camp.

A pool is a glimpse of the ocean.

A text is a glimpse of a letter, or better form of communication.

A photograph is a glimpse of a sweet memory.

A relationship is a glimpse of marriage.

And finally, in light of my ultimate reason for this “vacation,”…

A marriage is (supposed to be) a glimpse of how Jesus treats the church and vice versa. 

Marriage is, after all, a sacrament. It is a way in which we show our faith to others. It is a form of loving God. It is supposed to be this really great thing. It’s not a ceremony; it’s not a dress; not a bridal party, nor the bummer after a bachelor/bachelorette party; it’s not a living arrangement or a document; it’s not even two people in love. It is a sacrifice, a commitment, a love so unlike anything else, it defies all boundaries and does extraordinary things. At least that is what I think it is supposed to be, and that I think is a glimpse of how the church should respond to the great love of Jesus. He responded to us in our wretched state. He became one, in sickness and in health with humanity. He rose again so that “‘til death due us part” was not completed. He made us so beautiful. And he beams with pride and joy over us when we get it, when we comprehend this great thing and we can replicate it in our relationships.

And I think maybe, when we get this incredibly hard, yet incredibly simple Love thing down, we may even catch a glimpse of heaven. I hope that I live in such a way that people can glimpse this great Love and the hope of a world restored that I believe is coming so very soon. 

never prepared

people continuously tell us to always be prepared. it’s even the motto for the silly boy scouts! they hold up their little fingers, and they gain their badges, and they (all too knowingly and nerd-aly) say “always be prepared.” I say, NO WAY.

there is no way to prepare ourselves for so many situations in lives. recently, many unexpected and lovely things have happened. I have been extremely unprepared for a lot of them. and yet, they have continued to surprise and delight me. 

this makes me wonder, is being prepared the same thing as being ready? so many times in the gospel, Jesus talks about his second coming and he says to be ready, but he never, unlike the scouts, says prepared. (maybe he does…to be honest, I’m not checking; just go with it, followers…) anywho, we are to be ready for things to happen in our lives, but we are kidding ourselves if we can prepare ourselves for them. 

I am in no way prepared for what the future holds. But, I am ready to tackle it, to enjoy it, to delight in it, to accept all these unexpected and lovely things for exactly what they are, and to continue living, loving, and learning. Friends, be ready, but as far as preparing goes,…don’t sweat it.