Kingdom of Joy

I have allowed life to get far too busy this month. Not only have I neglected posting things here, but worse, I have allowed my vision to be colored by immediate circumstances.

Today I was deeply reminded of the right things, through 3 different readings.

First, a lovely poem by George Herbert

Thou that hast giv'n so much to me,
    Give one thing more, a gratefull heart.
    See how thy beggar works on thee
            By art.

    He makes thy gifts occasion more,
    And sayes, if he in this be crost,
    All thou hast giv'n him heretofore
            Is lost.

    But thou didst reckon, when at first
    Thy word our hearts and hands did crave,
    What it would come to at the worst
            To save.

    Perpetuall knockings at thy doore,
    Tears sullying thy transparent rooms,
    Gift upon gift, much would have more,
        And comes.

    This notwithstanding, thou wentst on,
    And didst allow us all our noise:
    Nay, thou hast made a sigh and grone
            Thy joyes.

    Not that thou hast not still above
    Much better tunes, than grones can make;
    But that these countrey-aires thy love
            Did take.

    Wherefore I crie, and crie again;
    And in no quiet canst thou be,
    Till I a thankfull heart obtain
            Of thee:

    Not thankfull, when it pleaseth me;
    As if thy blessings had spare dayes:
    But such a heart, whose pulse may be
            Thy praise.
    ... George Herbert (1593-1633)

As I allow myself to be overly burdened by the day-to-day, I "sigh and grone" too much. Thanks be to God that he “allows us all our noise” and receives our inadequate words. Bit by bit, mile by mile, year by year, I am trying to learn more about how to be grateful regardless of circumstances, purely because I know my Creator and Lord. I am relieved beyond words that He is patient with me in the meantime.

Next, from Henri Nouwen:
When Jesus speaks about the world, he is very realistic. He speaks about wars and revolutions, earthquakes, plagues and famines, persecution and imprisonment, betrayal, hatred and assassinations. There is no suggestion at all that these signs of the world’s darkness will ever be absent. But still, God’s joy can be ours in the midst of it all. It is the joy of belonging to the household of God whose love is stronger than death and who empowers us to be in the world while already belonging to the kingdom of joy. 

Again: I cannot let my circumstances govern my perspective. Knowledge of the Holy is more than enough. If I fix my focus on the eternal, on the "kingdom of joy," rather than the here and now, I will be rightly oriented.

Last, Mark 9 -- One of my favorite passages of scripture:

2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

Indeed, this describes me all too well. I always want to hide away, shut out the world's noise, and be comforted. Yet we cannot remain huddled up, away from the world, only focused on ourselves and what we want. We have been given the insight to know the fullness, in order to remain in the world and share such deeply good news with others.

Thus I am reminded to not get so swept up in my own busyness and to-do's that I lose sight of what matters. Instead, I hope to be a carrier of of hope, love and persistent kindness in a dark and confusing world, anticipating the kingdom of joy that awaits.

We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with God. God walks everywhere incognito. And the incognito is not always hard to penetrate. The real labor is to remember, to attend. In fact, to come awake. Still more, to remain awake.

C. S. Lewis, from Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer

What To Do With Hot Temps & Winter Vegetables?

I haven't posted a recipe in a long while, not for lack of cooking. I have enjoyed many of my favorites lately, but was ready to try something new tonight. I ate it as I caught up on the latest episode of Downton Abbey... while I'm still not sure whether I like where this season is going (can we please remove the black cloud from Bates and Anna and get on with it!??), I am sure I will make this recipe again.

Winter Vegetable Medley
I followed most of this recipe, but had to substitute for orzo, since I'm gluten-free. It was still wonderfully full of flavor, and I'm confident it will taste even better tomorrow as all the seasonings deepen. A true keeper.

Serves 4
30 minutes or fewer

Good-quality saffron is the key to this dish. Shop at a reliable source such as a gourmet store or online spice purveyor, and choose brands that indicate where the saffron was harvested. Kashmiri, Persian, and Spanish saffrons are some of the best.

Ingredients
2 ¾ cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
½ tsp. saffron threads
1 14.5-oz. can fire-roasted whole tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved, and tomatoes halved
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 16 pieces
1 cup orzo pasta (I used 1/2c arborio rice and 1/2c buckwheat groats)
¼ cup frozen peas (I used snap peas)
2 cups large cauliflower florets
8 green onions, each cut into thirds
1 cup large broccoli florets (I used brussels sprouts)

Directions
1. Bring broth to a simmer in saucepan. Stir in garlic, Italian seasoning, saffron, and tomato liquid. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and keep hot. (This was my favorite part in cooking this dish... the broth was really fragrant.)

2. Coat large skillet or 8-qt. Dutch oven with cooking spray, add oil, and heat over high heat. Add tomatoes, sear 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned and dry, and transfer to plate. Add bell pepper, sear 2 to 3 minutes, and transfer to same plate.

3. Sprinkle orzo (grains) into skillet, and stir 30 seconds. Stir in broth and peas, and reduce heat to medium. Arrange cauliflower florets on top of orzo in pot. Arrange green onions, tomatoes, and bell pepper pieces around cauliflower; cover, and simmer without stirring, 11 minutes. Scatter broccoli over vegetables, remove pot from heat, and let stand, covered, 10 minutes, or until orzo has absorbed all liquid and broccoli is crisp-tender. (This took slightly longer because I used the arborio and buckwheat... it was worth the wait!)

I toasted some walnuts and chopped them up coarsely, sprinkling them on top as the final touch. Quite good.

November 2013 p.30, Vegetarian Times

Other favorites I've made lately
Butternut Squash Risotto
Polenta Pizza
Almost Alfredo
Broccoli Pesto
Thai Peanut Sauce over Noodles

Though hot temperatures in January have me confused, the drought has me worried and Downton is more of a downer than I would prefer, at least I'm eating well! Onward and upward. Happy 2014!

Don't Worry, Be Happy

I find it to be a breathtaking gift when small things -- a phrase, a quote, words from a stranger, even a clipping from a news article -- come together and communicate a gentle word that can only be from the Spirit because of the effect they create.

This morning, these two passages came in from different sources:

Often we want to be able to see into the future. We say, "How will next year be for me? Where will I be five or ten years from now?" There are no answers to these questions. Mostly we have just enough light to see the next step: what we have to do in the coming hour or the following day. The art of living is to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark. When we are able to take the next step with the trust that we will have enough light for the step that follows, we can walk through life with joy and be surprised at how far we go. Let's rejoice in the little light we carry and not ask for the great beam that would take all shadows away. Henri Nouwen (go to this link if you want to sign up to receive the daily readings)

Then I turn to scripture, and this is part of today's reading:

Matthew 6
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Like Elijah in 1 Kings 19, I look for words from God in big, sweeping gestures. Instead, he often beckons with something subtle, to which I need to be always attentive in order to not miss it. He's not playing games with us; he simply will not work according to our own frantic demands and timelines. Do I want to live according to whatever is screaming at me, or focus on those important, constant things that ultimately matter?

Meanwhile, I will rejoice in what is right in front of me: the birth of a daughter to dear friends, the warmth of sun (a priceless commodity right now as much of our country is freezing), a full stomach, a sound mind. I will choose to "be happy," because in Christ, we can do so.

Long Walk to Freedom

I found myself watching many different things on the news as 2013 came to a close: reflections on the 1-year anniversary of Sandy Hook, the "Fast4Families" call for immigration reform, escalating tensions in Sudan and horrific attacks in Syria, all the buzz about Pope Francis as the Time Magazine "Person of the Year"... but the stories I found myself following the most closely were the commemoration events that marked the passing of Nelson Mandela.

I had planned on reading his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, during the Christmas Break, but when he died on December 5, I immediately got started. I was about halfway through the book when I went with a friend to see the film of the same name that came out at Christmas. I was nervous that I would stop reading once I saw the movie, but a 2 1/2 hour movie cannot begin to capture the massive swath of history covered in the book, so I returned to reading with renewed interest. (My own review: it's a really good movie... but no surprise, the book is even better!)

Digging into a thick biography is nothing new for me. I usually try to pick up one per year; in the past I have studied the lives of Theodore Roosevelt, John Steinbeck, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Lewis & Clark, Lou Gehrig, Mother Teresa, Eric Liddell, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Merton, Martin Luther, James McBride, Lauren Winner, C.S. Lewis... My appetite is never really satisfied! I immediately made a mental note for my next one when I saw a preview for a new movie coming out this April on the life of César Chávez.

I am currently in the section of Mandela's book that the movie did not portray in deep enough detail: his 27 years spent in captivity as a political prisoner. He spent 18 of those years on Robben Island, a desolate former leper colony. I finally have to make myself go to bed as I read these chapters; they are so gripping that I do not want them to end, but at the same time I don't feel like I can read fast enough to take it all in.

One of the main reasons I enjoy reading biographies is that I am profoundly fascinated by people's capacity to endure and move on past hardship. I learn from each person's journey, and if you know anything about the people listed above, you will see that the majority of them persevered through unimaginable suffering, remarkable challenges and heart-breaking misfortune.

With this is in mind, I am truly being schooled when it comes to the life of Nelson Mandela. Here's a sampling of some of the things he describes:

• At that time of year, the cells were so cold and the blankets provided so little warmth that we always slept fully dressed.
• The racial divide on Robben Island was absolute: there were no black warders, and no white prisoners.
• Prison is designed to break one's spirit and destroy one's resolve. To do this, the authorities attempt to exploit every weakness, demolish every initiative, negate all signs of individuality -- all with the idea of stamping out that spark that makes each of us human and each of us who we are.
• I never seriously considered the possibility that I would not emerge from prison one day.
• The authorities liked to say that we received a balanced diet; it was indeed balanced -- between the unpalatable and the inedible. 
• As a D Group prisoner [the lowest grade], I was entitled to have only one visitor, and to write and receive only one letter every six months. I found this one of the most inhumane restrictions of the prison system.
• We fought injustice wherever we found it, no matter how large, or how small, and we fought injustice to preserve our own humanity.
• [After describing his bouts of solitary confinement] But the human body has an enormous capacity for adjusting to trying circumstances. I have found that one can bear the unbearable if one can keep one's spirits strong even when one's body is being tested. Strong convictions are the secret of surviving deprivation; your spirit can be full even when your stomach is empty.

I won't begin to compare anything in my experience with the expansive saga of Mandela. But for the last several months I have been part of a group that is seeking after lives of shalom and solidarity on the Westside here in Santa Barbara, an underserved community with the majority living at poverty level. So the story of Long Walk to Freedom is compelling and instructive. There are about 20 of us who are building friendships there week after week, and I am grateful that there are many small victories to celebrate.

Nevertheless, we have very, very far to go to truly join in the lives of those we have met. But if Nelson Mandela can live through 27 years of imprisonment, I cannot find any of the challenges I am facing to be insuperable. Rather, as he counsels, I will seek to live by "strong convictions" and the invigorating strength of the Holy Spirit, seeking to work with others to fight injustice and be messengers of peace and hope. 

As you begin this year, what road are you on? Has it been a long odyssey? Do you feel like you are nearing the goal, or are you wandering? Are your spirits flagging? Be reminded that the journey is the destination. Redouble your efforts and dig in for the long haul. Personally, I can only do that with the grace and revival of the Spirit's work in my life daily... and reading good books like Long Walk to Freedom!

So as 2014 commences, I rejoice that I have truly, finally, found freedom (Galatians 5:1) through the honesty and beauty of the gospel. It was a long walk, and I will continue on that journey so that others may know that freedom as well.

Holiday Hashtags

Here's some odds and ends floating around in my head....

First of all, this Duck Dynasty thing is maddening on so many levels. For some good commentary, here is a thoughtful link: The Duck Thing: Is There Another Way?

More importantly, as I saw one person note on Facebook, why can't we get more upset about the many people dying in Syria and Sudan and QUIT TALKING ABOUT IDIOTIC, MEDIA-CREATED GARBAGE LIKE THIS?? The persecuted silently suffer, as they have for 2,000 years. Years ago at the Urbana Missions Conference, these words burned in me as I heard them, seemingly for the first time:

Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. (Hebrews 13:3)

Join me in praying with and supporting the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission as you plan your year-end giving (and then continue year-round...) #wearlc1

Next... I'm continuing to read Long Walk to Freedom, the 1994 autobiography of Nelson Mandela, and also anticipating the release of the new movie of the same title coming out on Christmas Day. I'm well aware that Nelson Mandela was not perfect, but his life is still a remarkable inspiration to me. To be a reconciler and a peacemaker is very hard work, and more discouraging than encouraging. Examples like his are tremendously motivating. I smiled when I read this quote from one Mandela's mentors (Chief Luthuli) last night, pertaining to women joining the fight against apartheid in 1957: "When the women begin to take an active part in the struggle, no power on earth can stop us from achieving freedom in our lifetime." Currently, I am equally spurred on to continue through reading Christena Cleveland's blog. Her recent post titled "Christmas is Cross-Cultural" is especially good. #cscleve

Third, I can't deny I am super-encouraged by the partnership we are continuing to build as Free Methodists in So Cal with Azusa Pacific University. There are far too many projects to list individually, but from internships to admissions to diversity to field education, we are deeply involved with and connected to students, faculty and administration at APU. At right is the recent photo taken where we publicly celebrated the new covenant established between APU and the Free Methodist Church in Southern CA (FMCSC), contained in the Center for Transformational Leadership (CTL). Jon Wallace, the president of APU, is standing in the middle (directly to the left of me). He is a gifted, supportive and visionary leader. CTL is a big part of my work these days (OK, for the last two years), and you can always feel free to ask me about it. I am pumped. #fmcsc (and we're about to launch #fmcsc_ctl)

From the sublime to the mundane.... finish with a good laugh here. (Skip the ad before the cartoon). Yes, there are too many cat videos on the interweb, but THIS is a good one. #simonscat

Portable Magic

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” C. S. Lewis

Despite all of the advances in technology, I still find that reading a book is my favorite way to pass the time. I chose to be an English major in college because I could not imagine how fun it would be to have my actual job be to read! I will admit that being an English major on the quarter system at UCSB (as opposed to semesters) is not something I would care to repeat -- I still have occasional flashbacks about the quarter when I took two lit classes and had to read 17 books in ten weeks. Even still, I reveled in my major, and am thankful for the strong foundation of reading in Milton, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Blake, Homer, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Austen, Chaucer (among so many others) that was instilled in me. Further classes introduced me to Dante, Cervantes, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Camus, Weil, Kafka, Neruda, Marquez, Sartre... ah, those were the days.

Though the working life does not allow for that amount of reading anymore, I developed the habit back then of always working on a 2-3 books at a time. I spent much of the Thanksgiving holiday buried in reading, and look forward to even more of the same during Christmas break. Here are the ones I'm currently working on:

• A Thomas Merton Reader. I stumbled on this at a used bookstore (how few of those there are any longer... boooooooo.....) During a trip in Italy a few years ago I brought The Seven Storey Mountain and developed a taste for Merton. While some of his writing is a little raggedy and I don't always agree with him spiritually, I find him to be an exciting and raw writer who challenges me in many ways. I especially love his stuff on the contemplative life, and let's be honest, his own story is a crazy and fascinating tale. Favorite quote so far: Sincerity in the fullest sense is a divine gift, a clarity of spirit that comes only with grace. Unless we are made “new men,” created according to God “in justice and the holiness of truth,” we cannot avoid some of the lying and double dealing which have become instinctive in our natures, corrupted, as St. Paul says, “according to the desire of error.” (Eph. 4:22)
• Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. I bought this years ago at one of those Borders liquidation sales and have been saving it as a special treasure since then (OK, little digression: does anyone like owning books as much as reading them?!) Once "Madiba" took gravely ill, I vowed to pick it up and had been planning on burrowing in with it over Christmas break in preparation for the film coming out. Upon the news of his passing I knew I couldn't wait any longer, and picked it up last night. Before I knew it I'd read 60 pages. Get this book. Favorite quote so far: “A leader. . .is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.” 
• Radical Reconciliation by Curtiss DeYoung and Alan Boesak. I heard DeYoung speak at the Mosaix 2013 conference in November and wanted to learn more from him. In my own journey of learning and practice in the realm of reconciliation in and through the church, this book is proving to be a tremendous and thought-provoking resource. Given that Boesak participated in the anti-apartheid fight, I'm finding some fascinating themes coming together in reading Mandela at the same time. I just finished a section on the story of Zacchaeus from Luke 19 that blew me away. Stretch your heart and mind and pick this up. (P.S. I'm reading this one on my Kindle -- yes, I've caved in to having an e-reader... I cannot deny how convenient it is, and as a person who lives in a condo, I have officially run out of room for more books.) Favorite quote so far: When genuine reconciliation takes place, it brings more than just individual salvation.

Admittedly, this is a rather serious-sounding list. I'm not one who tends to pick up the latest beach read (nothing wrong with that, just not what keeps my attention...) Never fear, I also love my Sunset, Vegetarian Times and New Yorker magazines, and I'm hoping to get the latest Malcolm Gladwell book for Christmas (hint hint). 

As I write this I am looking at the pile of unread books that await me when I finish up these three. How thankful I am that I never tire of having that pile in front of me. As Stephen King said, “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” I have been transformed, transported, and enchanted by reading. Feel free to share what books you are enjoying these days. Onward and upward!

"How Much Longer?"

This past week I spent some time with a ministry staff who asked me to come in and talk about organization and time management. Some of the team was struggling with too many things to do and too little time to get it all done.

I did not know most of these folks, so in order to get to know them, I asked them to write a headline for their ministry newsletter, ten years in the future. "What would you want the headline to say about you?"

They came up with some outstanding and aspirational statements. None of them were arrogant or shallow -- all of the statements were deeply significant and focused on the kingdom of God. Nevertheless, they all admitted to some level of exhaustion over the many things they were trying to do, many of which were not taking them in the directions their headlines aspired to.

Then we talked about what it takes to keep focused on their ultimate goals and not get mired in the day-to-day chaos of to-do lists and people's crises. Stephen Covey, in his tried and true book 7 Habits for Highly Effective People, says that what we want said about ourselves at the end of our lives turns out to be our definition of success. I said that a formative booklet for me in college was titled The Tyranny of the Urgent, which taught me about shaping my life around important things, which may not demand my attention the way that those urgent things do. The rest of our time together was spent in talking about how to manage our priorities and schedules according to the important things.

I'm well aware that this is far easier said than done, and I submit to you that after thirty years of vocational ministry, I may only now be starting to get the hang of it. I was reminded of this message again in my reading. Once again, Henri Nouwen speaks profound truth:

If we do not wait patiently in expectation for God's coming in glory, we start wandering around, going from one little sensation to another.  Our lives get stuffed with newspaper items, television stories, and gossip.  Then our minds lose the discipline of discerning between what leads us closer to God and what doesn't, and our hearts gradually lose their spiritual sensitivity. 

Without waiting for the second coming of Christ, we will stagnate quickly and become tempted to indulge in whatever gives us a moment of pleasure.  When Paul asks us to wake from sleep, he says:  "Let us live decently, as in the light of day; with no orgies or drunkenness, no promiscuity or licentiousness, and no wrangling or jealousy.  Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ, and stop worrying about how your disordered natural inclinations may be fulfilled"  (Romans 13:13-14).  When we have the Lord to look forward to, we can already experience him in the waiting.

Like children on a road trip with their parents, we are usually impatient to get to our destination, and incessantly ask, "How much longer??" In the same way, as adults we indulge our impatience by tinkering around with busyness that often does not add up to anything of real substance over time. The process of maturation must include growth in the capacity to delay gratification. This passage has been instructive in so many ways:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

May we be impatient for our true destination, but somehow also enjoy the journey.