I heard a rumor.
I heard from someone who has a friend who is a pilot for AA who told him never to fly American Airlines at the end of the month because AA is so low on funds that (in addition to now making you PAY for PEANUTS on the planes) they aren't scheduling flight attendants. Let me repeat, they want to save money so they're not scheduling flight attendants. This lack of flight attendants causes a lack of flights. The pilot told his friend, "Don't fly American Airlines at the end of any month. Your flight is likely to be cancelled." Consequently, when there are rain delays such as we have seen in Texas and the midwest, the rain takes all the blame. But this pilot said, don't be fooled. It's not the rain, it's the lack of flight attendants. Happens every month.
Now I do believe part of AA's and all airlines issues is the rain - have you seen the reports about Marble Falls on TV? 19 inches last i heard. Not to meention that my lawn looks like a jungle. And not just cause i haven't mowed in two weeks. The rain is changing everything.
But my question for the blog world is - or at least to any of my readers who happen to work for American Airlines - is this true? Is it true that AA is trying to save money at the end of every month by scheduling fewer workers which causes flights to get cancelled? Or is this just a rumor?
Either way, I gotta admit, I'm getting sick of AA. If you pay $300 for a plane ticket, they oughta give you some damn peanuts. For free.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
A Poem for Mr. Morales
Neither the dogs
nor the sirens
will stop their howling.
Sometimes I wish I lived in
another part of town.
What
the whites
did to the blacks,
the blacks
now do to
the browns.
And the cycle continues.
Who will ever learn that
there is no top to reach?
Only a lonely peak where you look
down on a world that never
looked up to you.
It's those who agreed to
live in the valley
who are the most happy.
They receive the sun
and the floods and
have learned how to manage both.
Mostly through song.
They should write a song about this.
nor the sirens
will stop their howling.
Sometimes I wish I lived in
another part of town.
What
the whites
did to the blacks,
the blacks
now do to
the browns.
And the cycle continues.
Who will ever learn that
there is no top to reach?
Only a lonely peak where you look
down on a world that never
looked up to you.
It's those who agreed to
live in the valley
who are the most happy.
They receive the sun
and the floods and
have learned how to manage both.
Mostly through song.
They should write a song about this.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
News
I know I haven't blogged in a while, but I've been really busy...
Everyone is, I know, but it's the only excuse I've got.
Flew out last week for Youth Camp, returned with a cold (thank you Mandy) and had a college event the next day. Sunday was, well, Sunday and then Monday the cold really knocked me out, but I had to continue working. This week had to manage preparations for the College Beach Retreat this weekend, teaching on Wednesday, leading worship on Thursday and then actually go on the College Beach Retreat on Friday.
This will be the first away from a church event (in 11 or 12 years of church work) that I am actually totally in charge of. Fortunately, i'm in charge of adults, which makes life much easier. Still, it will be a stepping stone.
On the home front, Janie is still cute but continues to eat stuff around the house that she isn't supposed to: a purse handle, my roommate's glove, used toiletries, a Christmas gift I never delivered... the usual. Potter still tries to sleep with me at night, but Janie doesn't let him alone for 5 minutes so he ends up retreating elsewhere, and Zorba is, well, Zorba. Still a hater, still a lover. The only thing Zorba and Janie have in common is that they both hate the vacuum cleaner and they both love Potter.
I watched A Beautiful Mind for the first time tonight. That was startling, but good. Redemptive even. And I was completely shocked to discover at the end of it that it was a true story. I would have never guessed. My favorite line from the movie: "God must be a painter. Why else would we have so many colors?"
Beautiful.
Everyone is, I know, but it's the only excuse I've got.
Flew out last week for Youth Camp, returned with a cold (thank you Mandy) and had a college event the next day. Sunday was, well, Sunday and then Monday the cold really knocked me out, but I had to continue working. This week had to manage preparations for the College Beach Retreat this weekend, teaching on Wednesday, leading worship on Thursday and then actually go on the College Beach Retreat on Friday.
This will be the first away from a church event (in 11 or 12 years of church work) that I am actually totally in charge of. Fortunately, i'm in charge of adults, which makes life much easier. Still, it will be a stepping stone.
On the home front, Janie is still cute but continues to eat stuff around the house that she isn't supposed to: a purse handle, my roommate's glove, used toiletries, a Christmas gift I never delivered... the usual. Potter still tries to sleep with me at night, but Janie doesn't let him alone for 5 minutes so he ends up retreating elsewhere, and Zorba is, well, Zorba. Still a hater, still a lover. The only thing Zorba and Janie have in common is that they both hate the vacuum cleaner and they both love Potter.
I watched A Beautiful Mind for the first time tonight. That was startling, but good. Redemptive even. And I was completely shocked to discover at the end of it that it was a true story. I would have never guessed. My favorite line from the movie: "God must be a painter. Why else would we have so many colors?"
Beautiful.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Youth Camp
I am at SWBYC in Sherman, TX. Translation: I'm at youth camp. The youth left on Sunday, I flew in on Monday at the last minute and it's been non-stop ever since. Here's a brief re-cap of the week so far...
I'm learning about being "wanted" as a minister versus being "needed." I'm also learning about just "being" instead of "doing." It's such a transition from last year when I was the worship leader. I spent much of last year preparing slides, practicing music, then teaching Bible study, participating in church group, going to bed on time, etc. This year I just hang out. I have no responsibilities. So where the students are, I am. When they're in Bible study, I work on the other parts of my job from my laptop. It's great. Low stress, few responsibilities, but great work done. Strange. I've never been in a position before where my job was to "hang out" (and be a counselor - but mostly that means just be there for the kids). It's a learning experience and it's good...
I'm learning about being "wanted" as a minister versus being "needed." I'm also learning about just "being" instead of "doing." It's such a transition from last year when I was the worship leader. I spent much of last year preparing slides, practicing music, then teaching Bible study, participating in church group, going to bed on time, etc. This year I just hang out. I have no responsibilities. So where the students are, I am. When they're in Bible study, I work on the other parts of my job from my laptop. It's great. Low stress, few responsibilities, but great work done. Strange. I've never been in a position before where my job was to "hang out" (and be a counselor - but mostly that means just be there for the kids). It's a learning experience and it's good...
Friday, June 08, 2007
Change
This is the sermon I preached Sunday at my hometown church. In an attepmt to maximize my time, you may see some parallels (or exact language) that I used at Beresheth last week. But that's the life. Again, I would suggest reading Acts 10 before you read this sermon.
“When I was your age…” I bet you could finish that sentence on your own. Whenever I hear these words come out of my well-intentioned grandma’s mouth I know I’m in for either a lecture or a good story. Like every grandchild I got the usual, I had to walk up hill both ways. Only with my grandma it was, “I had to walk uphill to school in the morning in the snow, then downhill to work in my parent’s restaurant washing tables and baking pies during lunch. After a half an hour, I’d scurry back up the icy hill to school again. Cause you know, we had to get the customers fed!” Or there’s the story about no air-conditioning and how my grandma and her siblings would beg the ice man, when he came to deliver the block of ice for the ice box to please shave them off a little bit of ice. Old fashioned snow cones only without the sugar! Sometimes what follows “When I was your age,” is a story about choices. “We didn’t have so many choices when I was a young girl. I’m so proud of you, but I worry too because you have so many things to choose from and I just can’t understand it!” From school, to the ice man, to choices in life, my grandma lived in a different world than I do now.
Change.
A perplexing subject. Often a confusing subject.
But a familiar one. Other than something we find in our pockets, and often accompanied by words like exact or spare, change, as a literal or philosophical turning or altering of our lives, is something we often need and something we often hate. Change can be a breath of fresh air, or change can threaten to suffocate us with the very air that once upon a time kept us alive.
In other words: change is beautiful, but it is rarely easy.
Change can be put more delicately when we describe it as a transition. “I’m transitioning into a new job,” as opposed to, “I’m changing jobs.” Or “she’s at a real place of transition in her life,” as opposed to “life is changing on her.” Or “we as a nation are transitioning into a new era.” smoother than the alternative, “the world has changed.”
Transitioning sounds nicer, slower, easier to ease into.
But the Bible talks a lot about change.
The Greek word for “repent” would be better translated, “changed and turned around to go a different direction.” Of course, that may be too many words to yell from a street corner or from a Sunday morning television set. Screaming “repent” at a stranger is so much more effective than getting bogged down with words or meaning or substance. (Smile).
In the biblical narrative, conversion stories or ministry stories often involved an abrupt change. Going from persecuting Christians to becoming one is quite a change; being healed of lifetime of leprosy with one touch, quite a change; being hailed the adored Messiah on Sunday to being the hated one on Friday, quite a change.
Abrupt change, sudden change, a change for the better, a change for the worse.
But the Bible talks about transition too.
“Be transformed therefore by the renewing of your minds,” writes Paul who discovered that just because he met Jesus on a road in a flash of blinding light doesn’t mean he got all the answers right away. Transformation comes from studying, listening, questioning, serving and loving God.
I imagine Mary went through quite the transition when she became pregnant with the Son of God. She journeyed to see her cousin Elizabeth, she talked with her fiancée Joseph, she adjusted to the idea of not only being pregnant, but being the mother of God.
In the Old Testament, the Israelites went through forty years of transition as they moved from Egypt to the promise land. And even after they “arrived” in the promise land, it’s wasn’t all like Jericho. The walls of every city didn’t just crumble at the blow of a trumpet. It was a process involving multiple wars, assimilation, and sometimes even retreating to the unpopulated hill country. God promised change, but change didn’t occur overnight. It took a generation of patient people transitioning from slavery to freedom.
So when I think about change or periods of transition, it’s hard to place my finger on what exactly it means. There’s a variety of ways to deal with change, even in the Bible. You know what the Israelites said to Moses when they got out of Egypt and began to experience the hardships of the Wilderness? “Thanks a lot for bringing us out here, Moses. We’d have been better off if you left us in Egypt! At least we had good fish to eat there! All we’ve got here is dry bread.” Imagine responding to God’s invitation to change that way. But change is hard and sometimes we respond with bitterness, anxiety, a fixation on the past, or ungratefulness.
However, according to the story we heard read from the book of Acts, we receive a different testimony about what it means to respond to change.
Peter thought he knew it all. He’d been with Jesus; he’d been misguided, but he’d been forgiven and now he understood what it meant to be a Jewish follower of Jesus Christ the Messiah.
But Peter had some more growing to do, a way to be more faithful to his calling in Christ. God had more in store for Peter than he could see with his own eyes. God was about to stretch Peter with a change: a change in perspective, a change in the way he would see God, see salvation, see people!
We meet Peter on the rooftop of a house praying like the good apostle that he was. Suddenly Peter enters into a trance, and sees a vision. From the sky he sees a blanket come down, I’m picturing something like what I’d take to a picnic. On that picnic blanket are all sorts of things that Peter, a good Jew, was not supposed to eat according to the Mosaic law. But as Peter surveys the blanket with its forbidden, unclean food, he hears a voice say, “Eat.”
“Lord, I can’t eat that,” Peter responds half in shock and half in righteous indignation. “The holy scripture says it is forbidden.” (As if he would need to remind God of what was in God’s sacred texts). But again, he hears a voice that says, “Eat.” And then again a third time: “Eat.”
Peter is confused, and rightfully so. He knows the law, had been reviewing and preaching the fulfilling words of Jesus regarding the law and the kingdom of God, and all of the sudden he is faced with a vision that seems contrary to that. Have you ever found yourself in that position? You always thought life would run a certain course, that some things would never change, that some people would never leave, that the world would go on turning as you know it because there has to be an unwritten rule somewhere that ensures that’s the way things should be and how dare the world or God change things up on you?
Peter knows something is happening, but he’s not sure what, and then he hears some men calling to him from outside the courtyard.
And Peter embarks on a journey to Caesarea.
When he arrives, he meets a Gentile, highly respected by the Jews, but a Gentile nonetheless. The two men pay their respects to each other and then Peter begins to realize what God is challenging him with. You see, Peter thought salvation was for the Jews only, he didn’t realize that the Gentiles, the “outsiders,” were a part of God’s redemptive process as well. But after a picnic vision and a visit to a stranger, Peter hears the testimony of the Gentiles, sees the Holy Spirit descend on them and it is Peter who believes. Believes that God is bigger, believes that God is more faithful, believes that he himself has some growing to do. Because truthfully, Peter didn’t have it all down, and neither do we.
But God had big things planned for Peter and big plans often means a change in the ones we’ve got.
When we first meet Peter in the gospels, we see a passionate but timid man who when faced with change and challenge of the loss of his Teacher to the Roman government, fails to be faithful and denies knowing Christ. Fast forward twenty years or so and Peter’s life demonstrates a faithfulness to God even in the most confusing situations. Then, Peter thought God sent the Messiah to lead in a Revolution, but he learned instead that, Jesus came to usher in a different kind of kingdom – Peter knows what it means to be surprised by God. Faithfulness for Peter now means always being open to the new things God had to teach him, being open to the new calling God was offering him, being open to receiving the new, fuller life God wanted to give him.
And God is offering us the same things.
But change is hard, adjusting is difficult, and trusting God can feel like trusting the clouds to hold up your weight. But we are called to a transforming gospel. And that always means change will be on the horizon. No matter how much I think I’ve got this God thing down. For you see, just when I put a book back on the shelf because I think I’ve mastered a truth about God, God opens a window to a whole new dimension of that truth. Just when I think I’ve got God’s character pigeon-holed, in flies a dove to lift my eyes up to a bigger God. Just when I think I’ve got the doctrine down, down fall the walls of my well-structured life, my expectations of tradition, community and the Bible, and suddenly a new understanding of God begins to be reconstructed.
Peter’s story is an encouraging reminder that we’re not God. And if we get to the point where we think we are God, think that we are the never-changing, all-knowing, think that we are the constant ones, think that we know the right way to live and that we are good at sharing that with others – if we get to that point, we’ve actually become unfaithful to the Gospel of Christ.
Because we serve a God who is in the business of change and transformation. The phrase used most by Jesus was “the kingdom of God,” and most often that followed an imperative to usher it in. God wants change. God wants to redeem the world. God wants our hearts to be healed, our lives to be altered and the world to be changed as a result of our transformation. God is constantly in the act of “saving” us. Salvation is not just a one-time event that happens when we’re nine years old. Salvation is God continuing to grow us, challenge us, and love us and push us out of the nest and into loving others with complete freedom.
So we shouldn’t be discouraged when we discover that the world is always changing; we’re always learning, and God is always growing us. We’re all in this together – we need to be faithful to live up to God’s challenges. Indeed, that means we are always changing, but that doesn’t have to scare us. It’s okay to live day by day doing our best - that’s what it means to be faithful. It’s okay to take one step at a time into the light - that’s walking by faith. It’s okay to feel like you don’t understand it all. Neither did Peter, the rock of the Christian church! And you certainly don’t have to have it all together. None of the apostles did then, and none of us do now.
We are all in community, seeking to be faithful even amidst change, and learning that transitioning through life may be the most faithful thing we can do as Christians. To be open to God moving in us – that’s faithfulness.
And that makes my heart pound with anticipation. Faithfulness is an openness to God, an ever-changing and ever-challenging sense of call, an exciting newness for my faith, and a recognition that God will always work beyond my wildest imagination.
Imagine a God so great that even the changes grandma describes pale in comparison. I mean can there be a greater revelation than adding syrup to shaved ice?!
It’s not only possible, it’s a promise.
“When I was your age…” I bet you could finish that sentence on your own. Whenever I hear these words come out of my well-intentioned grandma’s mouth I know I’m in for either a lecture or a good story. Like every grandchild I got the usual, I had to walk up hill both ways. Only with my grandma it was, “I had to walk uphill to school in the morning in the snow, then downhill to work in my parent’s restaurant washing tables and baking pies during lunch. After a half an hour, I’d scurry back up the icy hill to school again. Cause you know, we had to get the customers fed!” Or there’s the story about no air-conditioning and how my grandma and her siblings would beg the ice man, when he came to deliver the block of ice for the ice box to please shave them off a little bit of ice. Old fashioned snow cones only without the sugar! Sometimes what follows “When I was your age,” is a story about choices. “We didn’t have so many choices when I was a young girl. I’m so proud of you, but I worry too because you have so many things to choose from and I just can’t understand it!” From school, to the ice man, to choices in life, my grandma lived in a different world than I do now.
Change.
A perplexing subject. Often a confusing subject.
But a familiar one. Other than something we find in our pockets, and often accompanied by words like exact or spare, change, as a literal or philosophical turning or altering of our lives, is something we often need and something we often hate. Change can be a breath of fresh air, or change can threaten to suffocate us with the very air that once upon a time kept us alive.
In other words: change is beautiful, but it is rarely easy.
Change can be put more delicately when we describe it as a transition. “I’m transitioning into a new job,” as opposed to, “I’m changing jobs.” Or “she’s at a real place of transition in her life,” as opposed to “life is changing on her.” Or “we as a nation are transitioning into a new era.” smoother than the alternative, “the world has changed.”
Transitioning sounds nicer, slower, easier to ease into.
But the Bible talks a lot about change.
The Greek word for “repent” would be better translated, “changed and turned around to go a different direction.” Of course, that may be too many words to yell from a street corner or from a Sunday morning television set. Screaming “repent” at a stranger is so much more effective than getting bogged down with words or meaning or substance. (Smile).
In the biblical narrative, conversion stories or ministry stories often involved an abrupt change. Going from persecuting Christians to becoming one is quite a change; being healed of lifetime of leprosy with one touch, quite a change; being hailed the adored Messiah on Sunday to being the hated one on Friday, quite a change.
Abrupt change, sudden change, a change for the better, a change for the worse.
But the Bible talks about transition too.
“Be transformed therefore by the renewing of your minds,” writes Paul who discovered that just because he met Jesus on a road in a flash of blinding light doesn’t mean he got all the answers right away. Transformation comes from studying, listening, questioning, serving and loving God.
I imagine Mary went through quite the transition when she became pregnant with the Son of God. She journeyed to see her cousin Elizabeth, she talked with her fiancée Joseph, she adjusted to the idea of not only being pregnant, but being the mother of God.
In the Old Testament, the Israelites went through forty years of transition as they moved from Egypt to the promise land. And even after they “arrived” in the promise land, it’s wasn’t all like Jericho. The walls of every city didn’t just crumble at the blow of a trumpet. It was a process involving multiple wars, assimilation, and sometimes even retreating to the unpopulated hill country. God promised change, but change didn’t occur overnight. It took a generation of patient people transitioning from slavery to freedom.
So when I think about change or periods of transition, it’s hard to place my finger on what exactly it means. There’s a variety of ways to deal with change, even in the Bible. You know what the Israelites said to Moses when they got out of Egypt and began to experience the hardships of the Wilderness? “Thanks a lot for bringing us out here, Moses. We’d have been better off if you left us in Egypt! At least we had good fish to eat there! All we’ve got here is dry bread.” Imagine responding to God’s invitation to change that way. But change is hard and sometimes we respond with bitterness, anxiety, a fixation on the past, or ungratefulness.
However, according to the story we heard read from the book of Acts, we receive a different testimony about what it means to respond to change.
Peter thought he knew it all. He’d been with Jesus; he’d been misguided, but he’d been forgiven and now he understood what it meant to be a Jewish follower of Jesus Christ the Messiah.
But Peter had some more growing to do, a way to be more faithful to his calling in Christ. God had more in store for Peter than he could see with his own eyes. God was about to stretch Peter with a change: a change in perspective, a change in the way he would see God, see salvation, see people!
We meet Peter on the rooftop of a house praying like the good apostle that he was. Suddenly Peter enters into a trance, and sees a vision. From the sky he sees a blanket come down, I’m picturing something like what I’d take to a picnic. On that picnic blanket are all sorts of things that Peter, a good Jew, was not supposed to eat according to the Mosaic law. But as Peter surveys the blanket with its forbidden, unclean food, he hears a voice say, “Eat.”
“Lord, I can’t eat that,” Peter responds half in shock and half in righteous indignation. “The holy scripture says it is forbidden.” (As if he would need to remind God of what was in God’s sacred texts). But again, he hears a voice that says, “Eat.” And then again a third time: “Eat.”
Peter is confused, and rightfully so. He knows the law, had been reviewing and preaching the fulfilling words of Jesus regarding the law and the kingdom of God, and all of the sudden he is faced with a vision that seems contrary to that. Have you ever found yourself in that position? You always thought life would run a certain course, that some things would never change, that some people would never leave, that the world would go on turning as you know it because there has to be an unwritten rule somewhere that ensures that’s the way things should be and how dare the world or God change things up on you?
Peter knows something is happening, but he’s not sure what, and then he hears some men calling to him from outside the courtyard.
And Peter embarks on a journey to Caesarea.
When he arrives, he meets a Gentile, highly respected by the Jews, but a Gentile nonetheless. The two men pay their respects to each other and then Peter begins to realize what God is challenging him with. You see, Peter thought salvation was for the Jews only, he didn’t realize that the Gentiles, the “outsiders,” were a part of God’s redemptive process as well. But after a picnic vision and a visit to a stranger, Peter hears the testimony of the Gentiles, sees the Holy Spirit descend on them and it is Peter who believes. Believes that God is bigger, believes that God is more faithful, believes that he himself has some growing to do. Because truthfully, Peter didn’t have it all down, and neither do we.
But God had big things planned for Peter and big plans often means a change in the ones we’ve got.
When we first meet Peter in the gospels, we see a passionate but timid man who when faced with change and challenge of the loss of his Teacher to the Roman government, fails to be faithful and denies knowing Christ. Fast forward twenty years or so and Peter’s life demonstrates a faithfulness to God even in the most confusing situations. Then, Peter thought God sent the Messiah to lead in a Revolution, but he learned instead that, Jesus came to usher in a different kind of kingdom – Peter knows what it means to be surprised by God. Faithfulness for Peter now means always being open to the new things God had to teach him, being open to the new calling God was offering him, being open to receiving the new, fuller life God wanted to give him.
And God is offering us the same things.
But change is hard, adjusting is difficult, and trusting God can feel like trusting the clouds to hold up your weight. But we are called to a transforming gospel. And that always means change will be on the horizon. No matter how much I think I’ve got this God thing down. For you see, just when I put a book back on the shelf because I think I’ve mastered a truth about God, God opens a window to a whole new dimension of that truth. Just when I think I’ve got God’s character pigeon-holed, in flies a dove to lift my eyes up to a bigger God. Just when I think I’ve got the doctrine down, down fall the walls of my well-structured life, my expectations of tradition, community and the Bible, and suddenly a new understanding of God begins to be reconstructed.
Peter’s story is an encouraging reminder that we’re not God. And if we get to the point where we think we are God, think that we are the never-changing, all-knowing, think that we are the constant ones, think that we know the right way to live and that we are good at sharing that with others – if we get to that point, we’ve actually become unfaithful to the Gospel of Christ.
Because we serve a God who is in the business of change and transformation. The phrase used most by Jesus was “the kingdom of God,” and most often that followed an imperative to usher it in. God wants change. God wants to redeem the world. God wants our hearts to be healed, our lives to be altered and the world to be changed as a result of our transformation. God is constantly in the act of “saving” us. Salvation is not just a one-time event that happens when we’re nine years old. Salvation is God continuing to grow us, challenge us, and love us and push us out of the nest and into loving others with complete freedom.
So we shouldn’t be discouraged when we discover that the world is always changing; we’re always learning, and God is always growing us. We’re all in this together – we need to be faithful to live up to God’s challenges. Indeed, that means we are always changing, but that doesn’t have to scare us. It’s okay to live day by day doing our best - that’s what it means to be faithful. It’s okay to take one step at a time into the light - that’s walking by faith. It’s okay to feel like you don’t understand it all. Neither did Peter, the rock of the Christian church! And you certainly don’t have to have it all together. None of the apostles did then, and none of us do now.
We are all in community, seeking to be faithful even amidst change, and learning that transitioning through life may be the most faithful thing we can do as Christians. To be open to God moving in us – that’s faithfulness.
And that makes my heart pound with anticipation. Faithfulness is an openness to God, an ever-changing and ever-challenging sense of call, an exciting newness for my faith, and a recognition that God will always work beyond my wildest imagination.
Imagine a God so great that even the changes grandma describes pale in comparison. I mean can there be a greater revelation than adding syrup to shaved ice?!
It’s not only possible, it’s a promise.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
St. Jo Mo Chronicles
Other than the dramatic attempt to return to Austin, this weekend was pretty good. Friday when I arrived, we celebrated my dad's 62nd birthday. sorry if i wasn't supposed to say that on the blog dad.
Grandma and grandpa were there. Mom made her famous potato (is there an e?) salad, and we had hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken with avacado, etc. yum!!
Dad got a watch from "the girls," and some cologne from mom that she of course forgot about and found the next day in her closet. "Do you still want me to wrap it honey?"
He also got a new camera since mom lost theirs back when she and Amy came to Austin for Holy week. For weeks she called me to see if I had come across it or if it had been turned in to Lost and Found at the church. Guess what mom found on the second to last drive home from the airport in the back pocket of the car: their camera. Figures. At least they can sell it on eBay (if they knew how).
We girls got an un-birthday present from my dad too. Growing up, we would get one gift on the other daughter's birthday so we wouldn't be jealous. Loved that. So dad decided this year that he would do that too. In addition he brought out the old hunt and find your present game. When we were little, he'd hide clues all over the house and we would have to solve one clue to find the next one, until finally we were led to the present. Is there any wonder why my love language is gift-giving? So we followed the clues with Amy even imitating the way Emily used to run when she was little, arms in full swing, back hunched. So, so funny. It was great.
We also went to a wedding of a former neighbor. She was a couple years younger than Amy and her sister is Emily's age, so we all kind of grew up together. Here's a picture of the Pittman and the Jackson girls. I'm not sure why they all grew and i never did...
Finally, I preached at my hometown church. It's the second time. The first was in 2005 when I was job-hunting. I was more confident then. This time I was just nervous. But it went fine.
It was a good weekend. Got to hang out at a friend's pool, did more shopping than i have since christmas, played games, watched a poorly directed movie and of course, all of the above. It was beautiful.
Miss you.
Grandma and grandpa were there. Mom made her famous potato (is there an e?) salad, and we had hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken with avacado, etc. yum!!
Dad got a watch from "the girls," and some cologne from mom that she of course forgot about and found the next day in her closet. "Do you still want me to wrap it honey?"
He also got a new camera since mom lost theirs back when she and Amy came to Austin for Holy week. For weeks she called me to see if I had come across it or if it had been turned in to Lost and Found at the church. Guess what mom found on the second to last drive home from the airport in the back pocket of the car: their camera. Figures. At least they can sell it on eBay (if they knew how).
We girls got an un-birthday present from my dad too. Growing up, we would get one gift on the other daughter's birthday so we wouldn't be jealous. Loved that. So dad decided this year that he would do that too. In addition he brought out the old hunt and find your present game. When we were little, he'd hide clues all over the house and we would have to solve one clue to find the next one, until finally we were led to the present. Is there any wonder why my love language is gift-giving? So we followed the clues with Amy even imitating the way Emily used to run when she was little, arms in full swing, back hunched. So, so funny. It was great.
We also went to a wedding of a former neighbor. She was a couple years younger than Amy and her sister is Emily's age, so we all kind of grew up together. Here's a picture of the Pittman and the Jackson girls. I'm not sure why they all grew and i never did...
Finally, I preached at my hometown church. It's the second time. The first was in 2005 when I was job-hunting. I was more confident then. This time I was just nervous. But it went fine.
It was a good weekend. Got to hang out at a friend's pool, did more shopping than i have since christmas, played games, watched a poorly directed movie and of course, all of the above. It was beautiful.
Miss you.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Another day in the life
I'm home.
Getting here was not an easy task.
At 4:30pm yesterday, we left for the airport. Mom, dad and I said our good-byes without tears (good job mom) and I headed inside while they headed into North KC to shop. Once inside however, I discovered that my 6pm flight to Austin had been cancelled.
"Crap."
So i got a piece of paper telling me who to call and reschedule my flight with, and I did this. My next flight wouldn't leave for another 2 hours and 25 minutes, so I called mom and asked politely if she would come pick me up at the airport so I could hang out with them for another 2 hours instead of strangers at the airport. She said sure, came and got me, and we returned to Stein Mart where my dad was shopping.
As our watches began to approach 7:15, we checked out at the store and headed to the car.
"I can never find anything in this purse. It's so unorganized," my mother was muttering and sputtering to herself. "I have to take everything out to find the keys." She began unloading things on the trunk of the car. Wallet. Glasses case. Checkbook. "Pitt, they're not in here!" she practically screamed at my dad who took the purse and began to search himself.
No luck of course, so my dad opened the back door of the car (the door doesn't lock unless one is intentional about locking it and sitting back there earlier, I hadn't been). He peered into the front seat to check the ignition. No keys, but there was a car alarm. And it was going off. Cars are only supposed to be opened with keys.
Panic ensues as my father rushes back into the store to begin looking for my mother's lost keys. Mother drops her purse on the ground, squats down and begins throwing things out of her purse and into the street. Literally. Address book, receipts, other important keys, make-up.
"Mom, you lost your keys, don't lose your mind," I said. She ran back into the store to begin looking at well. I took the purse, perused it, found no keys, did find some lip gloss though and applied that to my lips. I also unlocked the rest of the car via the back seat and climbed into the still alarming car to sit and wait. This was nothing unusual.
Dad returned to check the purse again. By now the car alarm had given up and quit ringing and I was packing my life back into my backpack waiting to be driven to my second flight attempt.
Mom came running out of the store with keys in the air. Victory.
My second drop off at the airport was easy because I had already checked my bags. So I went straight to security. Mom called, "Do you think we should wait to make sure this flight isn't delayed?"
"I don't know mom, I'm sure it's fine. I can't check right now cause I'm in the security line." I was taking off the necessary clothing items to be more fully humiliated by airport personnel. We hung up.
But then I notice through the security window that the flight indeed has been delayed until 9:33.
"Damn."
I grabbed my computer, stuff it back into my backpack, grabbed my shoes, sweater, ticket and phone.
"Mom, turn around, it's delayed."
She and Dad thankfully hadn't made it far, so they returned to the airport where they proceeded to wait for almost half an hour while I waited to talk to an agent about whether I would miss my flight to Austin now that my flight to Dallas was delayed.
"Oh no. Everything's backed up at least two hours in Dallas, so you should be fine. You'll arrive in Austin at 12:40am," assured the lady at the desk. That sucks, but okay. If I'm not gonna miss my flight, I'm not gonna worry about it.
Mom had called me three times by now asking for an update as they circled the airport, parked illegally in the blue bus zone, circled some more for, as i said earlier, almost a half an hour. "Mom, you guys can leave. The lady said I'm fine. I'm sorry you had to wait so long. I love you."
"Okay, call us back if you need us."
I settled down in front of a TV to hear the interview with the Kevorkian guy.
Twenty minutes passed.
"Ladies and gentlemen, The flight to Dallas leaving at 9:33 has been cancelled. I cannot help you. There are tornadoes in Dallas. All I can do is give you a number to call to get a new flight. You need to go pick up your luggage from baggage claim and recheck it when you get your next flight arrangements."
"Shit."
And yes grandma, I said it outloud in the airport. I'm sorry. Surely you understand.
I called the number for the second time. Next flight 6am. I called mom.
"I really really love you. Turn around."
So last night I got to go home and spend another night with the fam. This morning at 4:30am, mom dad and I made our final trip to the airport and I arrived safely in Austin at 12:45pm.
Only 32 hours late.
Getting here was not an easy task.
At 4:30pm yesterday, we left for the airport. Mom, dad and I said our good-byes without tears (good job mom) and I headed inside while they headed into North KC to shop. Once inside however, I discovered that my 6pm flight to Austin had been cancelled.
"Crap."
So i got a piece of paper telling me who to call and reschedule my flight with, and I did this. My next flight wouldn't leave for another 2 hours and 25 minutes, so I called mom and asked politely if she would come pick me up at the airport so I could hang out with them for another 2 hours instead of strangers at the airport. She said sure, came and got me, and we returned to Stein Mart where my dad was shopping.
As our watches began to approach 7:15, we checked out at the store and headed to the car.
"I can never find anything in this purse. It's so unorganized," my mother was muttering and sputtering to herself. "I have to take everything out to find the keys." She began unloading things on the trunk of the car. Wallet. Glasses case. Checkbook. "Pitt, they're not in here!" she practically screamed at my dad who took the purse and began to search himself.
No luck of course, so my dad opened the back door of the car (the door doesn't lock unless one is intentional about locking it and sitting back there earlier, I hadn't been). He peered into the front seat to check the ignition. No keys, but there was a car alarm. And it was going off. Cars are only supposed to be opened with keys.
Panic ensues as my father rushes back into the store to begin looking for my mother's lost keys. Mother drops her purse on the ground, squats down and begins throwing things out of her purse and into the street. Literally. Address book, receipts, other important keys, make-up.
"Mom, you lost your keys, don't lose your mind," I said. She ran back into the store to begin looking at well. I took the purse, perused it, found no keys, did find some lip gloss though and applied that to my lips. I also unlocked the rest of the car via the back seat and climbed into the still alarming car to sit and wait. This was nothing unusual.
Dad returned to check the purse again. By now the car alarm had given up and quit ringing and I was packing my life back into my backpack waiting to be driven to my second flight attempt.
Mom came running out of the store with keys in the air. Victory.
My second drop off at the airport was easy because I had already checked my bags. So I went straight to security. Mom called, "Do you think we should wait to make sure this flight isn't delayed?"
"I don't know mom, I'm sure it's fine. I can't check right now cause I'm in the security line." I was taking off the necessary clothing items to be more fully humiliated by airport personnel. We hung up.
But then I notice through the security window that the flight indeed has been delayed until 9:33.
"Damn."
I grabbed my computer, stuff it back into my backpack, grabbed my shoes, sweater, ticket and phone.
"Mom, turn around, it's delayed."
She and Dad thankfully hadn't made it far, so they returned to the airport where they proceeded to wait for almost half an hour while I waited to talk to an agent about whether I would miss my flight to Austin now that my flight to Dallas was delayed.
"Oh no. Everything's backed up at least two hours in Dallas, so you should be fine. You'll arrive in Austin at 12:40am," assured the lady at the desk. That sucks, but okay. If I'm not gonna miss my flight, I'm not gonna worry about it.
Mom had called me three times by now asking for an update as they circled the airport, parked illegally in the blue bus zone, circled some more for, as i said earlier, almost a half an hour. "Mom, you guys can leave. The lady said I'm fine. I'm sorry you had to wait so long. I love you."
"Okay, call us back if you need us."
I settled down in front of a TV to hear the interview with the Kevorkian guy.
Twenty minutes passed.
"Ladies and gentlemen, The flight to Dallas leaving at 9:33 has been cancelled. I cannot help you. There are tornadoes in Dallas. All I can do is give you a number to call to get a new flight. You need to go pick up your luggage from baggage claim and recheck it when you get your next flight arrangements."
"Shit."
And yes grandma, I said it outloud in the airport. I'm sorry. Surely you understand.
I called the number for the second time. Next flight 6am. I called mom.
"I really really love you. Turn around."
So last night I got to go home and spend another night with the fam. This morning at 4:30am, mom dad and I made our final trip to the airport and I arrived safely in Austin at 12:45pm.
Only 32 hours late.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Faithfulness - Fruit of Spirit #7
This is what I preached at Beresheth last night (a few hours ago). You should read Acts 10 before you read this sermon though...
Can you recite them with me? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Our 7th fruit tonight: Faithfulness.
What do you think of when you think of the word faithfulness?
I think of a husband and wife. Not gonna lie. I don’t think of God or Jesus on the cross or my walk in Christ or anything like that; I think of marriage. Will my husband be faithful to me someday? Will I stay faithful to him? What if he is unfaithful? What will I do?
It’s baggage. I have baggage with the word faithfulness. Faithfulness or unfaithfulness as I understand it is not just about possibilities or potentiality, it’s personal.
But of course faithfulness has much more to it than adultery or idolatry depending on who the subject is. If I were here to speak of my faithfulness to God, I would be shaking in my boots, shivering in my flannel, setting down my axe and removing the log from my own eye so I could see into yours. Fortunately, I don’t think faithfulness to God has to be compared to being married to your spouse. There may be some common threads, but truth be told, if I honestly look at my faithfulness to God and compare it to the way I plan on being and working at being faithful to my husband, God would have divorced me years ago. I am not a faithful Christian.
But what does it mean to be faithful? That your life is a “living prayer?” That serving others is always at the top of your list? That telling people about Jesus is your number one priority in life? That you are “in love” with Jesus who is the husband of the church and your one true love? That involvement in God’s church, God’s community means seeing the best in everyone - loving your neighbor but loving your enemies even more? Does it mean being loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind… hold on, hold on. You lost me at loving.
If that’s what it means to be faithful, then consider me divorced. If not divorced, at least separated. A marriage with God would never work with what I’ve put into, or rather, failed to put into it thus far.
Thankfully though, faithfulness is not necessarily about staying faithful to what you already know or feel to be true. According to the story we read from Acts, faithfulness to God means always being open to the new things God has to teach you, being open to the new calling God is offering you, being open to receiving the new, fuller life God wants to give you.
Peter thought he knew it all. He’d been with Jesus, he’d been misguided, he’d been forgiven and now he understood what it meant to be a Jewish follower of Jesus Christ the Messiah. But Peter had some growing to do, some ways to be more faithful to his calling in Christ. You see, Peter thought salvation was for the Jews only, he didn’t realize that the Gentiles, the outsiders were a part of God’s redemptive process as well. But after a vision of a meal and a visit to a stranger, Peter hears the testimony of the Gentile, sees the Holy Spirit descend on him and it is Peter who believes. Believes that God is bigger, believes that God is more faithful, believes that he himself has some growing to do. Because truthfully, Peter didn’t have it all down, and neither do we. Just when I put the book back on the shelf because I think I’ve mastered one truth about God, God opens a window to a whole new dimension of that truth. Just when I think I’ve got God’s character pigeon-holed, in flies a dove to lift my eyes up to a whole new, bigger God. Just when I think I’ve got the doctrine down, down fall the walls of my well-structured life, my expectations of tradition, community and the Bible, and suddenly a new understanding of God begins to be reconstructed.
I hope you don’t find this word overwhelming or crippling. I don’t mean to dampen your day, raining down discouraging news that we will never make it, that we are always falling short, are always changing.
Rather, this story is actually an encouraging reminder that we’re not God. And if we get to the point where we think we are God, we think we have the answers, we think we know the right way to live and we’re good at sharing that with others – if we get to that point, we’ve actually become unfaithful to the Gospel of Christ.
We’re not falling short when we discover that (truth be told) we’re always learning – that’s faithfulness. We are indeed always changing, and that doesn’t have to scare us. It’s okay to live day to day doing our best - that’s faithfulness. It’s okay to take one step at a time - that’s faithfulness. It’s okay to feel like you don’t understand it all. Neither did Peter, the rock of the Christian church! And you certainly don’t have to have it all together. None of the apostles did, and none of us do now.
We are all in community, seeking to be faithful even amidst change, and learning that transitioning through life may be the most faithful thing we can do as Christians. To be open to God moving in us – that’s faithfulness.
And so “just a closer walk with thee” is not what I’m looking for in my relationship with God.
“Faithfulness, faithfulness is what I long for.”
An openness to God, an ever-changing and ever-challenging sense of call, an exciting newness to my faith, a recognition that God will always work beyond my wildest imagination.
That’s what I long to be faithful to…
Can you recite them with me? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Our 7th fruit tonight: Faithfulness.
What do you think of when you think of the word faithfulness?
I think of a husband and wife. Not gonna lie. I don’t think of God or Jesus on the cross or my walk in Christ or anything like that; I think of marriage. Will my husband be faithful to me someday? Will I stay faithful to him? What if he is unfaithful? What will I do?
It’s baggage. I have baggage with the word faithfulness. Faithfulness or unfaithfulness as I understand it is not just about possibilities or potentiality, it’s personal.
But of course faithfulness has much more to it than adultery or idolatry depending on who the subject is. If I were here to speak of my faithfulness to God, I would be shaking in my boots, shivering in my flannel, setting down my axe and removing the log from my own eye so I could see into yours. Fortunately, I don’t think faithfulness to God has to be compared to being married to your spouse. There may be some common threads, but truth be told, if I honestly look at my faithfulness to God and compare it to the way I plan on being and working at being faithful to my husband, God would have divorced me years ago. I am not a faithful Christian.
But what does it mean to be faithful? That your life is a “living prayer?” That serving others is always at the top of your list? That telling people about Jesus is your number one priority in life? That you are “in love” with Jesus who is the husband of the church and your one true love? That involvement in God’s church, God’s community means seeing the best in everyone - loving your neighbor but loving your enemies even more? Does it mean being loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind… hold on, hold on. You lost me at loving.
If that’s what it means to be faithful, then consider me divorced. If not divorced, at least separated. A marriage with God would never work with what I’ve put into, or rather, failed to put into it thus far.
Thankfully though, faithfulness is not necessarily about staying faithful to what you already know or feel to be true. According to the story we read from Acts, faithfulness to God means always being open to the new things God has to teach you, being open to the new calling God is offering you, being open to receiving the new, fuller life God wants to give you.
Peter thought he knew it all. He’d been with Jesus, he’d been misguided, he’d been forgiven and now he understood what it meant to be a Jewish follower of Jesus Christ the Messiah. But Peter had some growing to do, some ways to be more faithful to his calling in Christ. You see, Peter thought salvation was for the Jews only, he didn’t realize that the Gentiles, the outsiders were a part of God’s redemptive process as well. But after a vision of a meal and a visit to a stranger, Peter hears the testimony of the Gentile, sees the Holy Spirit descend on him and it is Peter who believes. Believes that God is bigger, believes that God is more faithful, believes that he himself has some growing to do. Because truthfully, Peter didn’t have it all down, and neither do we. Just when I put the book back on the shelf because I think I’ve mastered one truth about God, God opens a window to a whole new dimension of that truth. Just when I think I’ve got God’s character pigeon-holed, in flies a dove to lift my eyes up to a whole new, bigger God. Just when I think I’ve got the doctrine down, down fall the walls of my well-structured life, my expectations of tradition, community and the Bible, and suddenly a new understanding of God begins to be reconstructed.
I hope you don’t find this word overwhelming or crippling. I don’t mean to dampen your day, raining down discouraging news that we will never make it, that we are always falling short, are always changing.
Rather, this story is actually an encouraging reminder that we’re not God. And if we get to the point where we think we are God, we think we have the answers, we think we know the right way to live and we’re good at sharing that with others – if we get to that point, we’ve actually become unfaithful to the Gospel of Christ.
We’re not falling short when we discover that (truth be told) we’re always learning – that’s faithfulness. We are indeed always changing, and that doesn’t have to scare us. It’s okay to live day to day doing our best - that’s faithfulness. It’s okay to take one step at a time - that’s faithfulness. It’s okay to feel like you don’t understand it all. Neither did Peter, the rock of the Christian church! And you certainly don’t have to have it all together. None of the apostles did, and none of us do now.
We are all in community, seeking to be faithful even amidst change, and learning that transitioning through life may be the most faithful thing we can do as Christians. To be open to God moving in us – that’s faithfulness.
And so “just a closer walk with thee” is not what I’m looking for in my relationship with God.
“Faithfulness, faithfulness is what I long for.”
An openness to God, an ever-changing and ever-challenging sense of call, an exciting newness to my faith, a recognition that God will always work beyond my wildest imagination.
That’s what I long to be faithful to…
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