Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Playground Vandalized

A month ago, the church built a lovely playground sacred space for kids!  This past Saturday evening someone (or multiple people) took a lot of time and effort to break and destroy aspects of the playground.  The binoculars were forcibly broken.  The telescope for kids to imagine God's universe--was stolen.  The infant swing was stretched to the point that young kids can no longer use it.
What is wrong with the heart of people that do this type of thing?
The church constructed this space for the glory of God to honor young children and families.  In the past four short weeks, numerous neighborhood kids have had a chance to feel joy as they played. 
Something that was purely for 'good' in the world must be perceived to be a threat to some unhappy soul.
We dedicated the playground on Sunday!  As we were dedicating the play space
a car hit a squirrel who promptly went near the playground and crawled into a tire wheel, then an engine of a car.  The squirrel was rescued and is living a Penn Glen--squirrel 0763 11.  From sadness to the joys of children seeing adults gather around to problem-solve and rescue 'little Rocky.'
Where do you see joy this week? 

It is so much easier to destroy something than to build something new--thoughts?

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Inside looking Out

So many of the people that I interact with never leave their homes/care facilities.
They are living their lives, oftentimes by no choice of their own, in places that they never leave.
On a recent day that was sunny and bright, my heart was inordinately heavy as I left one high-rise
and realized that my friend had not been out in many weeks--and then, only for a doctor's visit.
Consider time.  How does time pass when you are inside looking out at the world?  Does time still pass slowly when you are aging and feel un-useful to the world outside? 

 What would you imagine yourself doing differently with your life, right now, if you knew that tomorrow--you would never be able to leave your home again--due to mobility, disease, etc.?
The wind in the trees of the 9th floor apartment was so subtle today when I returned to my friend.  I imagined that my friend had so much time on their hands they could actually count the leaves.  What would it feel like to you to sit and look out and really only have your memories to sustain and energize your soul?
My Aunt, who lived to be 97, always said her memories sustained her.  She outlived a husband, son, her best friends, her childhood friends--and despised being alone.  She hated out living everyone.  I guess as I think about her--it might be fair to say she wrestled with God's timing and her timing.

 What is the most important thing in the world to you?  What would happen if suddenly that most precious thing was gone? 

I've been leading a Bible Study on Abraham and Isaac--Genesis 22.  I've come to think about being obedient to God as something all together different than being dependent on God.  Abraham was obedient--yes.  But, the story speaks more boldly to me when I consider his dependence on God. 

Does God test us?  Does God test you?  That Old Testament story and culture sustained that viewpoint of God.  What's yours?

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Confronting Fear

Sometimes in Life we are forced to confront our fears.
Spiders.  Snakes.  Climbing a tall stair-case where each stair is open.
I don't like shows that people take great risks just to win big money:  Fear Factor,
for example,
does absolutely nothing to entertain me. 
The Stairway Mountain drive in Canon City, Colorado--wasn't exactly thrilling for me either. 
What types of things do you fear?  Do you have someone who usually helps you to find perspective on the things you fear?  My husband often says 'it's no big deal'--we will be at the top of that mountain before you know it. 
Ascending the Eiffel Tower in the rain seemed like a risky adventure.
Visions of the Chevy CHase movie, European Vacation kept entering my mind.  The images of everything that could go wrong and did in that fictional movie.

In your life--what helps you confront your fears?  My fears seem to be diminished by an advocate a buddy by my side.  An encourager.  As a Christian, we often talk about the Holy Spirit as the Advocate that God gives us to live and breathe in our lives.  An accompanier.  Sort of like an Accompanier of Peace that stands alongside of people in places of injustice and distress (Columbia, the Middle East, etc).  At a crux in the road, the Spirit can give me wisdom and do my breathing for me--even when life and fears seem to take my breath away.

Pastor Angela

Thursday, June 2, 2011

We aren't as perfect as we pretend

Why is it that we spend so much time pretending to be something we are not?
In observing my own life and people around me, we have this human quality in common.  A lot of time is wasted trying to ensure that others think of us, and our lives, in a certain way.  I came across a quote from Larry Crabb, in 'The Safest Place on Earth' page 11, and he makes the statement "A central task of community is to create a place that is safe enough for the walls to be torn down, safe enough for each of us to reveal our brokenness."  I love that quote.  I like the emphasis on vulnerability in our human interactions.  I'm guessing that he is hoping to prompt some deep thinking along the lines of times in our own lives when we recall the walls of pride and the walls of our own 'purported legacy' being torn down.  What type of community resulted? 
If the 1980's were the 'me generation' and the 90's the 'image is everything generation,' what generation are we in now?  What would the moniker be?