Consolation

From Henri Nouwen, yet again:

Consolation is a beautiful word. It means "to be" (con-) "with the lonely one" (solus). To offer consolation is one of the most important ways to care. Life is so full of pain, sadness, and loneliness that we often wonder what we can do to alleviate the immense suffering we see. We can and must offer consolation. We can and must console the mother who lost her child, the young person with AIDS, the family whose house burned down, the soldier who was wounded, the teenager who contemplates suicide, the old man who wonders why he should stay alive.

To console does not mean to take away the pain but rather to be there and say, "You are not alone, I am with you. Together we can carry the burden. Don't be afraid. I am here." That is consolation. We all need to give it as well as to receive it.

Ukulele Jam

I don't want to embellish this with too many words -- I'd rather let it speak for itself. Always keep in mind that 99.2% of the emails I receive from my mom are not really emails -- they are simply forwards. You know what I'm sayin'....

Here's the caption that went with it.
"This is a picture of part of our Uke Group. We celebrated a 70th Birthday (one in the center in the birthday cake hat) and had a great time. Several regulars were not present because of previous commitments. It is a fun group." The additional line that came from the guy who forwarded it to my mom (YESSSS! a triple forward!) said, "This is a picture of last night's birthday ukulele jam!" This is a group she plays with nearly every Sunday night.

Mom is the one with the big nametag that says "Pat." Awesome. She also collects ukuleles (I believe the number is up to 47, all mounted on walls around their home), and plays the banjo and accordion.

I am not making this up. I grew up listening to my mom playing "Satin Doll" and "Ain't She Sweet."

Her accordion (which she has since gotten rid of -- no more room, with all those ukuleles....) used to have gray mother-of-pearl trim with "PATTY" in rhinestones.

Nuff said. I believe it explains a lot about me, don't you think?

When It Rains....

(...you know the rest.)

I just had someone (you know who you are) email me to say, "You haven't blogged in awhile about you :) "

Which made me smile. Thanks.

Anyway, I haven't posted much in the last week or two because my plate is full. No doubt about it.

These are the plates spinning right now. Please don't ask, "How do you keep it all straight?" It's far too complicated to explain. Rest assured that it is all super fun and interesting. I am grateful beyond words.

• Pastoral coaching projects in East LA, two in Long Beach (starting tomorrow), Escondido, Hermon (near Highland Park), Garden Grove.
• Youth ministry consulting projects in Seattle area, Western suburbs of Chicago, Garden Grove and a new one near San Luis Obispo.
• Teaching a new series on apologetics out of C.S. Lewis' classic Mere Christianity for 8 weeks at Providence Hall High School.
• Coordinating a community-wide presentation titled "How to Talk with Your Teen about Drugs & Alcohol" on Feb. 10. Just organizing, not speaking - phew!
• Preparing to launch at least twelve coin can fundraising campaigns around the country for Eden Reforestation Projects to raise funds. We are currently planting 750,000 trees per month in Ethiopia & Madagascar!!

On the horizon:

• attending a conference in Orlando for Eden Reforestation Projects -- with churches from Maine to Florida in attendance.
• hosting a table at Santa Barbara's Earth Day Festival April 17 & 18.
• teaching my internships class again at Westmont during Mayterm.
• a trip to visit my niece and nephew in NYC over spring break!

It's all good. God be praised.

Urbana 09 video - don't skip this!

Just got this tonight and can't wait to pass it on... a high quality summary video of our time at Urbana 09 last month. It does a great job giving a taste of the conference.

A huge bonus: it also has the brief topical videos (see the scrolling section to the right of the summary video) that were shown during the conference AND videos of all the speakers we heard from. The topical videos (5-10 minutes each) are tremendous for teaching on various topics, and the speakers were STUNNING. Every single message was powerful, but these were my top favorites. None of the messages were more than 20 minutes. You could listen to one per day and feast on a banquet within a week's time!

• "Fences" -- great video on loving your neighbor
• Interview with Patrick Fung, president of OMF. Very inspiring.
• "Money & Power" by Oscar Muriu. My favorite of the entire conference. Convicting.
• "Bringing the Kingdom Down to Earth" by Shane Claiborne.
• "Pray Big, Pray Bold" by Sunder Krishnan.
• "All of Creation" by Denise-Margaret Thompson.
• "I've Got a River of Life" by Brenda Salter-McNeil. Crazy wonderful. This woman can preach.
• Michael Oh - profound testimony on forgiveness. I cannot describe how moving this was.
  
• "Missions on Your Campus" by Alec Hill. Stunning description of what can happen when we share our lives with others.

Go to the Urbana 09 website as well for more goodies, including the worship CD. You will NOT be disappointed.

Simple Authenticity

I am reading through a particular devotional for the third time right now that is digging deep into my heart and mind once again. It is demanding that various things in my life be examined, dusted off, thrown away, replaced, kept. The book is titled Benedict’s Way: An Ancient Monk’s Insights for a Balanced Life. There is no easy way to summarize it, so I won’t. I just recommend that you buy it. I found mine in a Catholic bookstore, but other friends to whom I’ve recommended it have found it inexpensively on half.com.

The title of today’s reading had me at “hello”: Simple Authenticity. A few nuggets:

Your way of acting should be different from the world’s way. RB 4:20 (“RB” = Rule of St. Benedict, a guide written by 5th century Italian monk which has guided believers who are living in intentional, monastic communities. The practices are surprisingly applicable still in the 21st century.)

Seldom or never do we hear anything about simplicity as an essential discipline of the spiritual life. Most of us have only a vague idea of the meaning of the word. Simplicity means “absence of artificial ornamentation or pretentious styles… lack of cunning or duplicity.” Where there is simplicity words can be taken at their face value… where there is simplicity there is no artificiality. Albert Day
Simplicity is trendy. People have shelves of books and attend conferences lasting a day or longer to learn how to downsize the clutter and complexity of their lives. This is one time when the cliché “Just do it” seems appropriate. Lonni Collins Pratt

It isn’t just our dressers and closets [and garages] that are jammed. That’s the easy part to simplify. You just square your shoulders and cut back. The harder part? Ceasing all of our complicated artificiality… the bigger problem, and maybe the root of why we accumulate, has to do with the clutter in our minds and hearts. Our relationships are cluttered, and our energy is fragmented in all directions… Keeping to the basics – this the strength of the Benedictine life. And it starts with the courage to step out of the disguise and into the reality of who we are. Pratt

~ Chew on all of that for a few moments ~

After I read these thoughts, I picked up my Bible. I am currently in the Book of Jeremiah. Today I was in chapter 17:5-18 and these words hit me most:

7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.

9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
according to what their actions deserve.”

Then I really appreciated the questions from the IV Press Study:

• Why will the person who relies on human strength be disappointed (vv. 5-6)?
• How does God provide for the person who relies on him instead of on human strength (vv. 7-8)?
• What is the state of the human heart before God (vv. 9-10)?
• What did Jeremiah continue to hope for (vv. 14-18)?
• What "drought conditions" are you facing now?
• In what ways do you find it easier to trust someone or something else besides God to see you through those circumstances?
• How does God's promise in verses 7-8 give you confidence?

I sense God’s guidance most clearly when he coordinates the dance between various “songs” I’m hearing… The reading from Benedict and this scripture passage from Jeremiah connected in my soul, but not in a beat-me-over-the-head sort of way.

As I read these two passages I tried to listen closely. I “heard” the rhythmic connections between Benedict’s call to authenticity and Jeremiah’s prophetic push to dig my roots down deep for real water. The Benedictine reading reminds me to clear out the clutter that distracts me from Jesus, and the reading from Jeremiah tells me that God sees through my facades, regardless. Lord, I thank you for the safety and truth that you are; that gives me the space to be real and vulnerable. Then your Spirit does His work, shaping my soul for eternity.

Solitude

Just read this this morning. I don't need to say anything about it. Outstanding and poignant.

(Photo is too darn grainy, but it was taken on a walk during a guided personal retreat in November 08).

The Voice in the Garden of Solitude

Solitude is the garden for our hearts, which yearn for love. It is the place where our aloneness can bear fruit. It is the home for our restless bodies and anxious minds. Solitude, whether it is connected with a physical space or not, is essential for our spiritual lives. It is not an easy place to be, since we are so insecure and fearful that we are easily distracted by whatever promises immediate satisfaction. Solitude is not immediately satisfying, because in solitude we meet our demons, our addictions, our feelings of lust and anger, and our immense need for recognition and approval. But if we do not run away, we will meet there also the One who says, "Do not be afraid. I am with you, and I will guide you through the valley of darkness." Let's keep returning to our solitude. (Henri Nouwen)

Put Me In, Coach

If you've known me for awhile you'll know I've been working through some major life transitions. It has been a wild ride. As of February 1, it will be one year since I officially resigned from my last position of fifteen years. That exit was akin to having several organs removed... I had so many years and relationships that I had invested in, and it was unimaginable to me that I could leave.

Yet so many things (including some significant shoves from God) had pointed me in that direction, and I felt ready, or at least willing, to take a big leap into the unknown. At one point I told someone that I felt like I'd flung myself off a cliff, and didn't know if there was going to be a net, a bungee cord, a parachute -- or absolutely nothing -- to catch me. It was mostly terrifying and a tiny bit thrilling.

I picked the worst time in modern American history to leave a well-paying, stable job with loads of great things about it. But God is bigger. And though it had days of real fear, I can say in hindsight that I am so grateful I took the step.

I don't want to paint a rosy picture. In the months following my exit, I made $0.00 the first month, $720 the second month, $2000 the third month... and this was still only about 35% of what I used to living on. But I was pressed to step into new places of prayer and risk and simplicity and humility and raw vulnerability. Somehow I do not want to ever forget how that felt. I learned a whole lot about what still needs work in me. Again I say, God is bigger. And more than enough.

But I must say that the thing I've learned THE MOST about is this: just admit that you have a terrible imagination.

In other words, just because YOU cannot imagine how something, ANYthing, is going to work out, does not mean it will not or cannot work out. Because, truth be told, it's really all about how incredibly limited your perspective is. The ability to see your life accurately is about the same as when you pick up binoculars and accidentally look through the wrong end of the lenses. Everything looks itsy bitsy small and indecipherable. And very far away.

I say this because I am now pursuing four, and really FIVE, different jobs right now. They all let me do things I enjoy doing like mad, and I would never have pictured myself doing any single one of them when I finally said, "I think it's time to go" from my other job. If you're in a big life transition yourself, write that one down.

For example... one of the biggest surprises to emerge out of all this has been this new venture into pastoral coaching. I still sort of twitch, maybe even cringe a teeny bit when I use that word "coach." I just have visions of websites with phrases like "Awake. Transform. Create." blazing across in floaty script with butterflies emerging from cocoons or people standing with arms outstretched on beaches or mountain tops. Barf.

All I can say is a I fell into it in a only-God-could-have-come-up-with-this sort of way. I still could not tell you how it all happened, but I ended up meeting most of last year with lead pastors from 3 different churches on a weekly basis (through video conferencing), started with a 4th in December, and have 3 more I'm starting with in the next month. (Don't worry, I'm not a freak who no longer sleeps -- I finished with my first project in November, and am finishing the next two this month. I can't really manage more than 3-4 at a time on top of the other stuff I'm doing.)

It's hard to quantify what we work on together. But there is a method in the madness as we work through identification of talents (and blind spots), places that need work, time management, moving from being reactive to proactive (sorry, I know that sounds very life-coachy, but it's true), leadership development, vision casting, management of staff, development of structures for growth, strategic planning... plus a whole lotta problem-solving in between. I have been privileged to work with several tremendous and gifted people from different cultures and backgrounds who are leading a very intriguing combination of churches. I feel so very fortunate.

Two passages come to mind:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

(Go to wordle.net to make one of these nifty little numbers)