No Words

reflections from bermuda #7
Pure, perfect, calm. Sometimes there are no words to describe the magnificence of creation. Silent prayer. Words spoken through a breeze. The sound of a gently flowing fountain. Sunbeams and shadows cast across the brilliant green lawn. Flowers bursting with color saying, “Look at me. Dance with me.” Soft white clouds float above a sea of azure blue.

Timeless. Breathless. Wordless. Good morning, God. I see you. Feel you. Know you are here with me. I am grateful. Thankful. In awe of all that surrounds me. Beauty. Still and calm today. Safe and secure. Gentle. Kind. Lovely. Free. They are I. I am they.

Thank you. Stillness and calm. The birds are even quiet today. Giving space for contemplative prayer and worship. Here we go. The new day has come. Pure. Perfect. Calm.

7/27/07

photo by bill

Theological World View

I found this survey at Anchors and Masts. The results are interesting and I have to say that the "summary" states pretty accurately my world view. The part I found to be quite curious is that in my post About Me I said I am "a reforming fundamentalist" and that category has now scored the lowest today. Does that mean I am "reformed"?

So much to learn. So little time.

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern, You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this. Emergent/Postmodern 82% Neo orthodox 61% Classical Liberal 61% Roman Catholic 57% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 57% Modern Liberal 57% Charismatic/Pentecostal 54% Reformed Evangelical 18% Fundamentalist 11% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

flickr fan photo and comments are here

The results showed a photo (which I removed due to spacing issues) of Brian McLaren whose book "a Generous Orthodoxy" was one of my recent reads. I highly recommend it. I found much clarity in seeing both the differences and similarites among the various forms of theological views. The one category the survey left out is "unfinished Christian." It is probably the one I can most enthusiastically claim!

Forget About Comfort - Part 2

reflections from bermuda #6

It is the illusion of comfort that keeps us locked in fear and turmoil. For comfort is not about material wealth and trappings (a powerful and apt word!). Comfort is being at rest and at peace with God and with oneself for the two cannot be separated. Comfort is surrendering to the still small voice that says, ‘Let the little children come. Come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened.’ Seek comfort and peace.

Your comfort zone is an illusion—a trick—to keep you in conflict. Take a step—move beyond—just one tiny step can change your life. One honest moment of moving through or past fear creates a miracle. Taking the risk to do something different can break the chains that bind.

Each day it looks different. Some days the biggest thing I can do is get out of bed, step out from under my cozy covers. Or speak to a stranger as my heart pounds wildly. Go to graduate school. Give up a good job. Travel to a foreign country. Let go of my teenagers. Take a step. A single step outside my zone of comfort.

If there is a battle raging inside (whether loudly or nearly undetectable) then something is yearning to shift—to move. Complacency holds fast, but risk is the ticket to freedom. What would I do if I were brave?

“Forget about comfort.” God sent those words to me over three years ago. They were not just for that day. They are for a lifetime. They continue to be worth the risk and the discomfort ☺.

What would you do today if you were brave?

7/26/07

photo by bill

Young at Heart

The playful side of Lucy is bursting at the seams these days. Possibly it is the amazing Seattle weather or the refreshment of returning from a fabulous vacation. It could be that my year of celebrating "50" is rapidly coming to a close and I want to capture every moment of delight before that next milestone comes around.

Quotes like "youth is wasted on the young," "how old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?" and "you don't quit playing because you grow old. you grow old because you quit playing" run through my head.

I want to play. I want to dance. I want to ride with the wind on my face and the feel of warm sunshine on my skin. I want to bloom and grow and blossom. I want to know the power of being me--shining, laughing star that I am. Lovely. Kind. Free.

Abbey of the Arts (who is also in a playful mood) reminded me of a wonderful poem by Lynn Ungar and particularly the following line:

“Imagine setting it all down—
papers, plans, appointments, everything,
leaving only a note: “Gone to the fields
to be lovely.
Be back when I’m through
with blooming.”

Mark Nepo says of blooming, "The simple rose, at each moment of its slow blossoming, is as open as it can be." I am reminded that I can be no more nor less of who I am at this very moment. Thus, I will embrace this day for what it is and who I am as I carry with me thoughts of laughter and play, youth and aging, blooming and slow blossoming."

"Gone to the fields to be lovely." Care to join me?

photos by bill. bermuda 2007

Forget About Comfort - Part 1

reflections from bermuda #5

Comfort. Forget about comfort. Penetrating words of the soul. Those words seem pointed even poignant as I sit here in the middle of this tropical paradise. It is a glistening summer morning and I am perched upon a hilltop veranda overlooking the shining town of Hamilton.

Forget about comfort. What comfort? The padded cushions surrounding my body? The chilled water cooling my throat? Hmm. This setting does not belong to me and yet I am grateful to be a part of it. The opportunity to sit in contemplation. Butterflies. Peepers. Kiskadees. All break the reverie. Wait. Do they break it or generously add to it? They are all a part of this tropical Eden.

The garden. The beginning. “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:25) Why are we now so fearful to be naked—both physically and I believe more accurately, spiritually? Given the choice, I imagine people would choose to bare themselves physically more easily than let someone see the inner recesses of their heart. Why? It is such a paradox, because we live our lives desiring to be seen and truly known yet still we hide.

“And the man said, ‘I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself’.” (Genesis 3:10). And so we hide in our comfort. We hide behind our clothes. Our image. Our jobs. Our homes. We say we are serving others; catering to their needs—our children, spouses, bosses, friends. Of what are we afraid? Being selfish? Being wrong? Being seen for who we truly are? Being naked?

We build up savings accounts for old age. We work until we can work no more and then ask, “Where did my life go? I have built this comfort and still I am not comfortable. What happened?”

Comfort. The comfort of the womb. The safety of a bosom cradling a child's head. The joy of being seen and truly known. Connection. Relationship. True comfort comes from authentic relationship. Relationship with God; with others; with ourselves.

Forget about comfort—whatever comfort is. These are words spoken to me from the inner most recesses of my heart. And as I write, I realize that it is not comfort that I should forget about, but the illusion of comfort for it is the illusion that has the ability to keep me locked in fear and turmoil. (to be continued)

7/26/07

photos by lucy