Community: Places of Love and Belonging

I am back from a couple week hiatus while I focused on moving back to Minnesota. Yesterday, began reflecting on the importance of community. It all started with a "return" to worship at my home congregation of Westminster Presbyterian Church. I was baptized and confirmed in this congregation. I am a true "child of the congregations". Yet, I've been mostly inactive of the past 15 years. As I walked down the halls of the church before worship I was greeted warmly by many individuals who know me. I was greeted with an abundance of hugs and questions about what I was doing and how I was. These greetings continued after worship including a wonderful surprise visit with a friend from youth group days who I'd not seen in probably 20 years! I felt so loved as I walked through that building interacting with this community.

Community is a place where you feel you are "worthy of love and belonging" (Brene Brown).  When you feel loved by the individual members of a community you also feel like you belong to that community. Community's love you for who you are each time you enter that community. They encourage you to grow, to heal, and to build relationships within the community.

After I lost my Christian Education job I felt lost and in desperate need of community. I was living in a "new" state where my primary community had been the congregation I was working with. I was in desperate need of healing, love, and a place to belong. Through a friend and colleague, Gina Struensee, I was introduced to two communities that embodied what community should be. First, the more obvious community I entered into relationship with was First Presbyterian Church in Neenah, WI and more specifically their knitting group. The knitting group welcomed me with open arms and nourished me through their kindness and interest in me as person. I was by far the youngest member of the group yet I was always greeted with enthusiasm and authenticity. The congregation itself also welcomed me, provided space and time for healing, and allowed me to use some of my gifts to give back to this community. Within this community I felt God's love surround me and give me courage and hope for healing and renewed life.

The second community that embodied what community should be was at first a bit surprising to me. I began attending yoga classes at The Flow Yoga & Wellness for the health benefits. I expected it to be just a place to attend yoga classes. As you might expect it turned out to be quite a different experience. I began to build relationships with the owner, instructors, and other yogis. The instructors took an interest in who I was as a whole person. Not only did the they know my story they also took an interest in helping me heal and move forward. They challenged me both on and off my mat. I began to feel a camaraderie with my fellow yogis as we had breakthroughs on our mat and when we fell "off" our mat. This community became the true embodiment of what it means to feel "worthy of love and belonging."

It is my hope that each of you reading this post has a community (or two or three) the embody true community. You have a place that where you can heal, grow, belong and experience God's love for YOU! Please share in the comments a story about community and how it impacts/ed you.

Reflections on Hope

Yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent, the beginning of the churches New Year, and a the beginning of a season of preparation to welcome once again the baby Jesus into our midst. I think it is very fitting that the first candle we light on the Advent wreath is the candle of hope. The dictionary definition of hope that I think best fits Advent is "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best." When we hope for something we want it to turn out for the best. The catch is that what we think is "best" may not be what God knows is best for us or for a situation. A prime example is Jesus' death. His followers hoped he would not be crucified and would not die. Yet, God knew that what was best for them, for humanity, was for Jesus to die and rise again.

We all need hope. We all need to know that things will turn out for the best. What does hope look like? For some it may be that glimmer of light at the end of a very dark and scary tunnel that reminds them that this darkness will not overcome us, will not last forever, and things will get better. For some it might be a hug or a smile from a friend or even a stranger that reminds them that they are loved. For others it might be the courage to step out in faith on a new adventure reassured that God will walk with them every step of the way. Hope can take many forms. 

There is a Young Living essential oil called "Hope". In the description of this oil it says that "Hope™ helps you reconnect with feelings of strength and grounding, restoring hope for tomorrow. " This idea of hope really resonates with me. When we have hope, if even for a moment, we have reconnected with our own strength and we become more grounded. We might only feel this strength for a moment if life is really difficult yet each time we feel it, it becomes more familiar. It is kind of like muscle memory. The more we use a muscle in a certain way the easier it become to move in a certain way. It becomes second nature. I think the more we embrace our strength and courage the more grounded we become. The more grounded we become the more we "open" we are to the "joys that lie ahead."

During this season of Advent, may you embrace hope and rediscover the joy that lies ahead embodied in the birth of Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Practice-Gratitude Journaling

I decided to jump on the Thanksgiving bandwagon and write a post about thankfulness or in this case gratefulness. Now don't get me wrong it's not that I'm not thankful or grateful but this year I don't feel the need to broadcast these things on Facebook or social media. In fact this post isn't going to focus on what I'm thankful. However, I do want to take this time to say THANK YOU to YOU the readers of this blog! I am grateful that you take the time to read, ponder, and respond to what I write. It gives me courage and inspires me to continue this blogging journey.

Okay so back to the main purpose of this post. I have a spiritual practice of gratefulness. I try to each day to be intentional about naming the things I'm grateful for. Some days I just take a few minutes to name them in my head. Other days I write them down as part of my pray journaling practice. Some days I even post them on Facebook or Instagram. This practice is usually just a list of people, things or events. In the past few days I have to feel the need to reflect on my gratitude on deeper level. I have felt the need to challenge myself to not only name what I'm grateful for but also to put into words why I am grateful that particular day for that person, place, item or event. This might include reflecting on how this positively impacted me or where/how I experienced God's love. This will take more time than just making a list. Yet, I believe it will open up my heart and soul for glimpses of God's healing and transforming love.

For Advent I am going to commit to putting this into practice by keeping a gratitude journal. Each day not only will I name what I'm grateful for but will reflect and write down why I'm grateful for the things I name. I also commit to reflecting on this experience in a blog post after Christmas.

So who wants to join me in this gratitude challenge? I would love to have others along on this journey with me and to hear what you noticed about yourself while engaging in this spiritual practice.

Here are some question to ponder as you reflect on the "why":

• How did this person, event, or thing positively effect my life today?
• How am I different because of this?
• How did I experience God's healing and transforming love today?
• What about the person, event, or thing made me feel grateful?

Who's with me?!

The Strength and Beauty of Weeping Willows

Weeping willows are knows as graceful giants. I have always been drawn to these breath taking trees. As I child I remember enjoying climbing and hiding in their trunks. I had several senior photographs taken under/near a weeping willow.  Now as an adult I am drawn to their gnarled and strong trunks. I am drawn to the drooping limbs that sway effortlessly in the breeze. I am in awe of their ability to stand strong while their roots are plunged into very wet soil and unstable soil.

My admiration for weeping willows stems from my sense that weeping willows speak to us in a powerful way. They challenge us to adapt to our surroundings. Weeping willows grow in wet swampy areas where the soil can be unstable yet we don't usually see them fall down in a wind storm.  This is because the roots of weeping willows grow deep and wide proving an extremely strong base. In fact the roots can grow as deep as the tree is high and spread out up to 40 feet away. As humans we too need to have a strong roots structure so we too can flourish. We need to find ways to uncover, embrace, and nurture our authentic self so we too can stand strong in the storms that come and go.

Weeping willows also challenge us to embrace our whole self. The trunks of the graceful giants are gnarled yet strong. When contrasted with the dramatic ground sweeping branches the effect is breath taking. It wouldn't have the same effect if all we saw were the gnarled trunk or just the branches. If we hide part of ourselves from the world we are not whole. When we are able to embrace and nurture our whole self we too become breath taking. We must embrace both our strength and our beauty for when we do we to can become graceful giants who weather the storms of life and show God's love for this world.

How do you nurture your authentic self? How do you nurture the strength and beauty God created in you?

Friday Photographs-Contentment

“At some point, you gotta let go, and sit still, and allow contentment to come to you.” 
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

This is the view from the place where I am able to embody this quote. This is the view from my family's vacation home in Door County, WI. On this particular fall morning the light was magically dancing off the trees and water. It was beautiful.

Where can you embody this quote?

The Waters of Baptism

The sacrament of Baptism holds a special place in my heart and soul. I have always been drawn to this sacrament. For a long time I thought this connection was due to my love of babies/young children. However, over the past few years I have become aware of a deeper connection to baptism. The symbolism of baptism and especially the symbolism of water draw me in.

Several years ago (actually the summer of 2012) I was taking a walk along a river in Minnesota. At some point along my walk I decided to stop and watch the river go by. I think I was hoping for solace and peace but instead I began pondering the symbolism of water as it relate to baptism. This pondering produced three water/baptism metaphors (and I actually wrote them down in my phone).

1. Water as a journey.  A droplet of water in a river takes a journey through many experiences. This droplet winds around and around as in moves forward. It might journey quietly along and then suddenly it rumbles over rocks that form tumultuous rapids. It might even take a long and hard tumble over a waterfall. It usually ends up in a vast body of water. Each droplet of water is needed even if it seems lost in the millions of other droplets. Baptism marks the beginning of unique journey with God. In many ways the water used in baptism symbolizes the the journey we will take. It will be filled with times of tumult, falling, rising, and peacefulness. Yet, through it all we know we have been claimed by God and that God is with us and within us.
2. Water renewing life. We all know the power of water to renew life. We see it when we have forgotten to water a plant for weeks on end and it look dead but we decide to water it just incase and wala the plant come back to life. We see it in the stark contrast between a lush oasis in the middle of an arid desert. We are acutely aware of this power after taking a sip of precious water after a long hard day in the heat of summer. In baptism we remember and celebrate the renewed life we have in God. We celebrate the that God's healing and transforming love gives us new life each day.
3. Water as cleansing.  We have all experienced getting so dirty possibly covered in so much mud or dirt that we are unrecognizable a first glance. People may treat us differently because we are so dirty. Yet, with a water (and probably some soap!) we become recognizable again. Baptism symbolizes a washing or cleansing of sin. For me this is more about uncovering the layers of dirt that have made us an unrecognizable version of our authentic self. When we remember our baptism we are asked to rediscover our authentic self and strive live into this version of ourselves.

I believe the connecting theme in all of these metaphors is hope. Baptism is about God's love and about hope. We desperately need moments of hope in a world that continues to experience tragedy and suffering. I know deep down in my being that God's love will rise above the suffering and bring hope!

Friday Photographs: Visio Divina

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Invite God into this time of prayer & meditation.

Gaze prayerfully at this photo...

...let your thoughts and feelings sit with you for a while.

What do you see?

What are you feeling?

What might God be saying to you through this photograph?

Say a work of thanks to God for this time!