Remnants

Rachel Hackenberg  ( http://rachelhackenberg.com/preparing-for-lent/) offers prayer writing prompts throughout Lent.  I will be doing my best to keep up!  I hope that you will use them as a springboard for your own prayers.

Isaiah 10:21 (NRSV): "A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God."

The prophet Isaiah foreshadows warring years for Jerusalem and a scattering of the people, but he also claims with hope that a remnant of the Israelites will be saved from the destruction in order to rebuild the nation. Despite all that will be lost, those who remain will be Israel's good news.

Remnants.
Sometimes it seems as if remnants are all that's left.......

A remnant of joy.
A remnant of patience.
A remnant of creativity.
A remnant of energy.
A remnant of faith.
A remnant of trust.
A remnant of awareness.
A remnant of health.
A remnant of anticipation.
A remnant of peace.
A remnant of contentment.
A remnant of love............. for God .............. for myself ............. for others.

Many of those remnants have been to hell and back.
It is easy to remember when they were ripped from the whole.

I am afraid I will never be whole again.

Please God, weave me into something new.

Friday Five: Almost Groundhog Day Edition

Rev. Pat Raube, at RevGalBlogPals writes:

I have to admit: I never thought much about Groundhog Day.

Then I saw that movie. And an odd holiday that seems to be a remnant of an obscure Pennsylvania German custom took on all sorts of new meaning.

So, in of the movie and the day, I present you with this Almost Groundhog Day Edition of the Friday Five!

1. The Holiday:  On a scale of 1-5 (with 1 representing, "Hey! Stop hating on the most awesome season ever!" and 5 representing, "Green. NOW."), how much are you hankering for spring? And what is, to you, a true sign that it is actually on its way?

I'd give it a 3.  It's almost/already spring here, which I love.  I'm not looking forward to the "traditional" spring months here because they bring blowing sand and increasingly hot temperatures. However, spring is not really here until the trees start to bud.


2. The Film: Seen it? If yes, Love it? Hate it? Meh?

Enjoy it.  Love the theme of possible change and redemption.  Love comedy.  Like Bill Murray.

3. The Meaning: If you could relive one day of your life, what one would it be?

It's actually two days:  the days our sons were born/came home with us, and their adoption days.

4. The Meaning, Part 2: If you had to relive one day of your life over and over until you got something right (a la the Bill Murray character in the film), what day would that be?

 Not sure about this one.  I try not to live in the past and with regret.  If I think about it for too long, there are several I can come up with!


5. The Meaning, Part 3: If you had to design a life-changing experience for a fairly despicable human being (as is, for example, the Bill Murray character at the film's start), what would it be? How, given all sorts of unlikely powers to bend time and take control of another person's personal growth, would you do it?

I think of a recent experience where another pastor, from a different tradition and with a different understanding of scriptural interpretation than mine, shouted me down at a ministerial meeting ("I rebuke you!  I rebuke you!" ) while talking about a hot button issue.  I'd not change him to believe as I do, but to be open to a new understanding of scripture and being able to hear me.

I don't really want that power;  too tempting!  :)

Thanks for the Friday Five, Pat!  It was fun!

And for the rest of you, if you could change someone or something, what would it be?

Studying Sabbath

Throughout my years of ministry, and even before, I have studied Sabbath.  I have studied scriptural references, both Old Testament and New.  I have read modern theologians writings about Sabbath.  I have read how-to books about Sabbath.  I have looked at our denomination's offerings on Sabbath.  I have tried to live Sabbath, to have a Sabbath day, to encourage Sabbath practices in others.  I have preached and taught Sabbath.  So why is it so elusive?

We struggle with the tension between law and grace when talking about Sabbath.  When the subject comes up, one quickly hears references to what we must NOT do on the Sabbath.  One is reminded of Blue Laws; of stores and restaurants being closed; of the expectation that one would refrain from doing "work;"  of the hoped for rest and renewal.  

We remember the commandment: 

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy" (Ex 20:8-11). 

We do it because God did it.

Or perhaps:  

"Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day" (Deut 5:12-15).

We do it to remind ourselves that God has freed us from all that binds us, including work.

And yet we struggle with what sabbath is, and perhaps more importantly, how to  "keep" it.  Perhaps we need to listen more closely to what Jesus says and does when asked about Sabbath keeping, as in Luke 6:1-11 and other gospel texts. The question is not what do we do (or NOT do) on the Sabbath to keep it holy.  This is law.  It is instead to ask for what, and for whom, was the sabbath created.  How is sabbath-keeping grace? 

When we understand the difference between those questions, then we will come closer to keeping sabbath as God intended.

Friday Five: Where is its HOME?

Mary Beth writes:

As noted at my own blog, my word for the year is "clear."

One of the things to which this refers is clearing away clutter.

One of the best ways I have found to do this is to give everything that comes into my house a HOME. And I can easily tell that I have too many things when there are not enough homes for them all!

I gleaned the idea of items having homes  from my younger sister who used to say to her toddlers, "See that book on the floor there? Is that its home? No? Please put the book into its home." Often, I am saying the same words to myself that she said to her little ones.

Photo from Discountofficeitems.com

In my mother's house, the Marks-A-Lot marker always went in the cupboard next to the sink. I don't know why, I just know that's where the Marks-A-Lot goes, still and forever, in my house many miles away.  

So:  Tell us your favorite homes for five things, the places that you can always and reliably find them. 

Tell us about them; show us pictures if you want!  And definitely post a link in the comments, using the following formulation, so we can all come and see.

_______________________________________________________________________________

In our house, we are not always good about putting things where they go!  It is a growing edge, especially for my boys (DH included)!  But I do have some things I "religiously " place in their home, because my sanity depends on it!

1)  KEYS

My keys go in a specific pocket on my purse.  If I don't put them there, I spend valuable time looking for them, and since I'm rarely early, that's not a good thing!  If they are not in my purse, the second place is a specific place on the kitchen counter.
 

2)  PENS

 With two school aged children, I am always having to sign something.  In addition, there are the requisite phone messages and numbers to write down.  So pens go in one of three places:  the junk drawer, the school supply/craft drawer, or my purse.  I can usually find one in one of the drawers, but for some reason, after a period of time the pen in my purse disappears.  I think the gremlin that lives in the dark bottom of my bag eats them.

 3)  READING GLASSES

Readers go by the computer because that is the only place I need them.  My regular glasses suffice for all other reading.  If my readers are not by the computer, I am frustrated, and I get a crick in my neck and/or a headache straining to read the screen.

4)  CELL PHONE 

Sadly, I am a willing participant in the addiction/dependency on our cellular devices.  My phone is in my purse or on my person at all times.  It is Murphy's Law that dictates that as soon as my phone is in another location, I receive that call/text/email that is so extremely important!




5)  KINDLE FIRE

As noted, I am firmly entrenched in the electronic age.  My Kindle goes with me wherever I go for two reasons:  1) my calendar is on it, and 2) you never know when you will need reading material!

Whoopsie!  Friday Five

Wow, how is it that it is the second Friday of October, already??
I don't know about you, but this fall has been incredibly FULL, and time is flying faster than I can keep track of it!

So, first things first. 
Take a moment, and take 5 deep slow breaths...
One....
Two...
Three...
Four...
Five....

Well, I feel more centered now.
So, let's get on with a Random Friday Five.

1. Tell us a moment of blessing that you have experienced in the past week.


I have two...... I was able to meet for the first time with a group of clergy women in my presbytery.  Yea!

Pedernal Mountain seen from Ghost Ranch NM

I was at Ghost Ranch, NM for study leave this time last week.    

2. Share the first thing/story that comes to mind when you read "When I was a child..."

^{I Corinthians 13:11}
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.

Seriously.

3 , 4, and 5. If you were the host of a t.v. talk show, what three people would you like to interview on your first show, and what would you ask them.

Barack Obama - I would ask his advice for raising bi-racial children in our country today.  (since I have two of my own).

Brian McLaren - How can we learn to respond to people who understand Christianity differently than we do in a more gracious manner?

Hillary Clinton - what advice do you have for women leaders in today's world?

 Thanks, revkjarla - this was fun!

 

Helping Hands

Today at Friday Five, Martha says:

I hate to ask for help. I love to give it. You may identify with these feelings.

So, for this Friday Five, please list four ways you have been helped when you didn't want to ask for it and one way you had a chance to help that meant a lot to you.


So here goes!

Four ways I have been helped:

• When I was a young teacher barely out of college, a friend and I went to Big Bend National Park to camp over spring break.  While there, we drove a VERY primitive road in my car and knocked a hole in the transmission case, thereby rendering us totally immobile.  Big Bend is VERY isolated, so there was no way to get it fixed there (which took weeks anyway).  So I had to call my dad, who borrowed a truck, rented a trailer, drove almost 600 miles to the park, loaded up us and my car, and drove us home.  It was a wonderful gift, but you can be assured that I have never heard the end of it!! :)

•  Almost twenty years ago, I tore up a knee while on a presbytery youth ski trip.  Needed LOTS of help - the ski patrol who got me down the mountain, the youth, the other adult advisors.  One of the most meaningful was my colleague in ministry making the two hour drive to our drop-off point with my Dear Husband so DH could pick up our car and drive me home!

•  We had a house fire several years ago, while I was serving two small mountain congregations.  While the insurance took care of the big items, there are things that you don't think of.  When we moved back into our house, they gave us a "pounding" and completely restocked our pantry and kitchen supplies!  {A pounding is an old fashioned type of wedding shower or house warming.  In frontier times (and since), people brought a pound of a kitchen staple (beans, flour, sugar, etc.)  to stock the pantry.

• I have had so much help over the years, it is hard to pick just one more.  My mom and dad, in more ways than can be counted.  Parishioners who have brought meals when sick; prayed us through our adoptions; celebrated milestones with us.  Good friends who have come when called.

 One way I had a chance to help that meant a lot to yme.

• When my father-in-law was dying, my DH and I took a week off and went to visit.  While we were there, my father-in-law's sisters came from out of state for what was to be a final visit.  Tom and I did the cooking and took care of details so both my in-laws could enjoy the visit. 

Over the years, I have had many opportunities to help, and it is always meaningful to me.  There are those times when it seems like it will be drudgery, but it always turns out to be a blessing.

Friday Five: Next Five Months

 Jan at RevGalBlogPals writes:

The summer is whizzing by and soon it will be August! That means that there are five months left in this year 2012. What do you look forward to in the next five months; or what is scheduled? What is meaningful for you in each of these months? Or memories you have of these months? You decide what to write about for each month!


So here goes............

August - 50th Birthday and I'm looking forward to it.  Expecting my fifties to be grand!  Also, our wedding anniversary - 21 years.

September - Boys settling into school and starting new activities....... start new study at church........ football........... September has been about new beginnings for me - I guess because of the beginning of the school year.

October - fall weather and color ................. maybe some study leave/continuing ed.............. Halloween, which my boys LOVE............One of my favorite months of the year!

November - family visits.............. prep for Advent/Christmas/Epiphany.................... hoping that we get to spend Thanksgiving in Indiana with family.

December - first holiday season in new church........... old traditions and new.