Reflective Renewal

New and Improved

2010-08-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

Focus Scripture: Isaiah 65:17-25

Have you ever gotten a little excited when you heard that something was “new and improved”? Sometimes that wording can be deceptive. On more than one occasion, I have rushed out and purchased the latest gadget only to find that it wasn’t so new after all. As a matter of fact, as I began to grow older and more perceptive, I also began to realize that no thing is really new under the sun, for the ability to create something out of nothing belongs to God, and only God has the power to bring into existence that which is truly novel. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth – an ideal kingdom – and God pronounced that it was very good! Now there was creative genius! But we know what happened after that.
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Reading today’s text brought to mind a movie I saw back in 1996 – the movie was called “Multiplicity” and starred Michael Keaton and Andie McDowell. Keaton played Doug Kinney, a devoted husband, father, and construction worker. Like so many other people, Doug had too much to do and not enough time in which to accomplish it all. Not only was he barely able to keep up with the demands of his job, he soon found out that he had little time to enjoy his family and savor his life. In fact, he rushed through existence at a frenzied pace. And he was miserable in the process.

Now just when he was about to go off the deep end, Doug met a geneticist who offered him a solution – he gave Doug the ability to have himself cloned – to have himself made over in his own image! Doug jumped at the chance and before long had crafted a clone to share the work load with him. The plan went along just fine for a while. But soon Doug decided that if one clone was good, more than one would be better. So he produced clone number two and clone number three. He finally ended up reproducing four clones in all, each one displaying different aspects of Doug’s initially faulty personality, each one being a little more quirky than the one that preceded it, each one being a clone-of-a-clone. Corrupted, weakened, and defective, clone number four had capacities that were discernibly inferior to those of his predecessors. Needless to say, over time, Doug’s life became extremely complicated and troublesome. Although he eventually stumbled on a workable solution to the problem he had created, he could not make the underlying cause of the problem go away. You see, once these clones had come into existence, there was no way to undo the process and make them disappear. So Doug and the clones ended up living in tension with the mess that they had made.

When one considers the notion of tinkering with God’s good creation on a broader scale, what are the long-term effects? The effects described in Isaiah are similar to the effects we feel today. Rather than being satisfied with God’s good creation, God’s chosen people made things up as they went along and in many respects made copies of copies of copies of what God had pronounced to be “very good.” Each copy was a little more faded and washed out than the one that preceded it. Consequently, the world became a mess. Isaiah 65:19 tells us that the world had become a place where weeping and crying were commonplace (v 19). Apparently in that ancient day infant mortality was occurring at a high rate (v 20) and people were dying before their time (v 20). The people didn’t have decent housing (v 21a); nor did they have enough to eat (v 21b). The end result was that God’s chosen people simply were not enjoying life (v 21c) as God had intended them to do.

Similar circumstances exist in the present. For example, today homelessness is at an all-time high. The ranks of the working poor have grown at an alarming rate. And millions of people go to bed hungry each night. Furthermore, there is no justice for the poor and the oppressed; as a result, a permanent underclass has been established, and it is populated with souls who have abandoned hope. Not only that; today our country finds itself divided along political, racial, and economic lines. That which was once defined as well being for all has now become a copy of a copy of a copy as it has trickled down through the ranks and has lost sight of what was initially good and right and true for all people. In Isaiah’s day, there was general strife in the land (v 25). Likewise, in the contemporary setting, we don’t have to look very far to see strife hovering all around.

In the modern day, we have decided too often that we are capable of improving on God’s good work. We have resolved to make copies of copies of copies of morality and reproductions of reproductions of reproductions of the truth until we have lost sight of the original goodness that God had initially created and intended for his chosen people. As a result, we have fashioned with our own hands a world that is in trouble, a world that needs salvation, and a world that cries out to be made new and improved.

Upon realizing our folly we have cried out to God. Because God desires to be in relationship with us and loves us with an everlasting love God is willing to step in and fix the messes we have created as the result of choices we have made. The Isaiah text opens by announcing “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (v 17). What a relief to know that God intends to provide for us a new and improved kingdom, an original work of artistic genius, a new creation!

One in the Spirit

2010-08-17T06:36:00.000-07:00

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Read Focus Scripture: John 17:1-11

What does it mean to have unity? Can we as modern-day disciples say that we are united? I submit to you that we fall short in countless ways, some of which have an impact on our children – our precious children – who are now in the process of killing each other in record numbers. What if we had a unified vision for our children, a vision that was unclouded by political agendas and mistrust?

What if we were united as one in the spirit of political honesty? Today in America, our political leadership is divided. Political decisions are too often based on half truths, driven by personal ambition, or in some cases are based on plain old arrogance. As a result, what this country has done in the past has not always been the noble thing to do. In fact, our politicians have not always taken the high road. Nor have the standards used by our political leadership been calibrated on that which is right and good and true.

Many current examples come to mind (some of them too fresh and raw to consider objectively), so I will regress and cite an example from the year 2000. At that time during one of the political speeches a phrase was used that captured my attention. The phrase was a promise that no child would be left behind in our educational system. I thought to myself: What a noble idea! I thought about all the children I had come into contact with during my many years as an educator, and I could imagine the wonderful possibilities of such a promise. So I dared to hope. If only this could be accomplished, I said to myself. What if?

So I waited and watched as the speakers of this promise were placed into office, and I waited and watched for the promise to be fulfilled. I waited and watched the political leadership of this country engage in acerbic partisan rhetoric. And I waited and watched as the leadership failed to achieve enough unity to turn the promise into a reality. Not only that; I watched in dismay as the promise remained unfulfilled for so long that it simply morphed into a lie as our political leaders continued to war among themselves. What if this nation’s leaders could have set aside their differences and become one in the spirit of political honesty?

Moreover, what if we were united as one in the spirit of inspiring individual hope? Some years ago, I worked in a school district that was changing rapidly with respect to its racial, economic, and social diversity. In part, this demographic shift could be attributed to large-scale gentrification of urban communities in the city. Real estate properties that used to house low-income residents had been demolished to make room for six-figure condos and town homes for the rich. The former residents of those low-income housing projects were then geographically displaced. Consequently, some of them fled to the suburbs in search of decent places to live.

When these displaced people arrived in their new communities, they were not welcomed with open arms, needless to say. In fact many of them felt like exiles and found it real hard to sing the Lord’s songs in a strange land. These low income newcomers were confronted with the usual things that divide the oppressors from the oppressed. Not only that; these groups were not really talking to each other about their similarities and differences, their hopes and their dreams, and with communication at an impasse, mistrust was the sentiment of the day. In the process the rich were pitted against the poor, the white against the other, and the language majority against the language minority. Children, once again, were affected as this mistrust carried over into the school system. Where there was no hope, the children languished. I saw some of these children sink into hopelessness, anger, and even despair that manifested in cynicism, apathy, and sometimes violence. What if people in these receiving communities had been united as one in the spirit of inspiring individual hope?

Today’s scripture consists of the first part of what has been called Jesus’ high priestly prayer, a prayer that was prayed not too long before Jesus was about to leave this world to be glorified with God. Why was such a prayer necessary? I imagine that Jesus felt compassion for the disciples because they would have to remain in the world where they would be despised and persecuted. Jesus knew the disciples would need divine protection from the world in order to carry on the work of the Kingdom. And I imagine that Jesus knew the work would be difficult for the disciples. So what did He do under such circumstances? Jesus prayed.

Specifically, Jesus prayed for unity. In the seventeenth chapter of John, Jesus asked God to protect the unity of his followers and to guard them against division. They were told to go into the world and be witnesses. And they were told that the world would be hostile to their message. Unfortunately, in the modern day, the world is still hostile to the message. There is still so much work to do here, but without unity, the work is not likely to get accomplished. So we need God’s guidance through the Holy Spirit to help us maintain our sense of vision and purpose as members of the body of Christ, members who are striving to do the work of the Kingdom. Unity is what we will need to embrace if we profess to be the church universal. And unity is possible only to the extent that our spirits are one with each other.

Just Fearlessness

2010-08-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

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Read Focus Scripture: Psalm 27:1-3

I never considered myself to be an overly brave person, and certainly not a political activist. As a matter of fact, in the area of political astuteness, I was fairly naïve and often quite timid. That’s why I am grateful to a friend and ally who helped me stay alert of the dangers all around me when I served as a school administrator. During my years as an educator, I observed people overacting with fear and panic to things they did not understand. I used to get frustrated at the petty reactions I observed. She, on the other hand, was able to analyze dispassionately the behaviors she saw and keep the situation in perspective, which allowed her to take appropriate action. I learned a great deal from her mentorship.

One of those situations involved students’ hair cuts. Back in the l990s it was in vogue for African American students to have designs carved into their hair. It was a mark of personal expression, racial pride, as well as a statement about the artistry of the barber. The fact of the matter is that hair carving has a long history for people of African descent. For example, one historical account reports that at the end of a Middle Passage voyage, off the shores of Suriname, all the slaves were led upon deck. Their hair was shaved in different shapes of stars, half moons and other figures. It had been the practice of slaves to adorn each other’s heads with such figures using broken bottles, because they had no razors or soap available at the time. My friend helped me to remember that this incident was remarkable because it spoke of resilience and cultural vitality in the face of a horribly dehumanizing experience.

Teachers at the school where I worked did not know this about African American children; nor did they care to find out, it seems. Instead, when they saw the carvings on the heads of many of the young boys, they automatically interpreted the artistic expressions as “gang representation.” Because fear and ignorance prevailed in the school’s culture, the office began getting disciplinary referrals for the offense of having figures carved into the hair. Before long, gang hysteria erupted.

Let’s be real about all this! Without a doubt, there were gangs in the surrounding school community, gangs that were moving into the neighborhoods in droves from the city. These gangs had their colors and their symbols, and their characteristic manners of dress. But at that time the head carving was not part of the gang culture. To make matters worse, teachers began to send kids to the office for mismatched shoe strings, for a pant leg that was pushed up on one side, or for drawings and symbols written on book covers and spiral notebooks, and other things teachers saw as representing gang affiliation. The situation was getting out of hand. It didn’t take long before just about every African American child in the school was being accused of being in a gang. My initial reaction back then was to express anger and frustration over the behavior of the teachers and community. My friend, on the other hand, helped me look at the corroborating indicators, which, in turn, prompted me to deal with the offenders on the basis of the hard evidence, not the head carvings alone.

She also helped me see through lenses of compassion those students who found themselves at the receiving end of unfair accusations. Because of my friend’s influence, I was able to adopt the position that even if they were affiliated with gangs outside of school, students were entitled to an education. Be that as it may, if the kids came to school acting like criminals they would be treated as criminals. But if they came to school behaving like students, they would be treated like students. Because of her clear vision, my friend also helped me garner the strength to defend this stance and make it part of the school’s position in a community that was changing rapidly. With respect to defending justice, she was fearless. Over time I pray that I will become just as fearless as she.

The Power of Love

2010-07-28T05:44:00.000-07:00

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Focus Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13)

Reflection

All we need is love; at least that’s what the songwriters, poets, movie producers, and others would have us to believe. And you know what? I tend to agree with them to a certain extent. The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Church in Corinth also believed in the importance of love. This love about which Paul speaks can be seen in our benevolent attitudes and actions towards our fellow human beings. Not only that, the kind of love Paul preaches about grows out of sincere and fervent devotion to God. When people possess this kind of love their individual gifts take a back seat. What shines through is not the forcefulness of prophesies or the speaking in tongues or having great knowledge and wisdom. What shines through are the compassion expressed and the mercy rendered toward another person who was created in the image of God.

What is there about love that makes it so powerful to the point of being a more excellent way of life? The biblical evidence is compelling, and it is reinforced by recent scholarly studies. As we engage in the process of loving others, we continue to grow and benefit psychologically from the acts of charity we extend. This feeling has been referred to as a “helper’s high” or the “Mother Teresa effect.” In other words, charitable acts can lead to positive feelings. Some scholars have noted that an actual change in brain chemistry occurs within people after they have done something charitable. Specifically, the act of giving has been shown to produce endorphins and reduce stress hormones in a similar way that exercise does. As a fringe benefit, some studies have shown that people who are happier and less stressed tend to be more productive and more apt to succeed. Could this be a by-product of the more excellent way that Paul describes?

In addition to that, recent scholars have noted that there is healing power associated with doing good. They contend that when we care for others, we are actually caring for ourselves. These authors report that personal helping on a regular basis gives people an immediate physical sensation, including warmth, increased energy, and a sense of euphoria. Not only that when we give of ourselves, especially if we start young, other things in our lives are affected. Mortality is delayed. Depression is reduced. Well-being is increased. Additional research studies have shown that helping others can result in health benefits to those with chronic illness, including HIV, multiple sclerosis, and heart problems. These studies and others have demonstrated that when people help others on a regular basis, even in small ways, they are likely to feel happier. Is this a more excellent way?

My answer is a resounding yes! While we’re down here waiting for eternal prophesies to be fulfilled, we can use love as a unifying vision for life in God’s kingdom here on earth. Love is that unifying vision and it can be expressed through acts of charity, philanthropy, and generosity extended to persons in need of a helping hand. Such love is one of the noblest expressions of the human spirit, and it can promote goodness and generosity even in the midst of the most intolerable situations. Furthermore, as Paul demonstrated in Corinth, engaging in acts of love can help to build communities that sustain well-being and peace for all its members, no matter what their gifts. The scripture teaches us that even though our gifts may eventually diminish, love will last for ever – And now abide faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love. And it is a more excellent way.

Genesis - Tower of Babel

2010-07-23T05:08:00.000-07:00

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Focus Scripture:Genesis 11:4-9

Applied Scripture Reflection

I can just imagine the people of Babel thinking that if they could build a tower reaching all the way to heaven; they would be able to see God face to face and at last know the nature of Eternal Reality. I can also imagine how clever they felt as they attempted to solve the mystery and gain renown in the process! Their plan, however, did not appear to be God’s plan, for God scattered the people of Babel and confounded their language (Gen 11:4-9). When I first read the story long ago I thought that God was punishing the people of Babel for their pride as they pooled their collective knowledge and discussed in “one language and the same words” (v 4) the blueprints for building “a city and a tower with its top in the heavens” (v 4). After the people admitted that their intent was to make a name for themselves, God acknowledged that with one language nothing that these people proposed would be impossible for them to accomplish (v 5). So God confused their language and scattered them over the face of the earth (v 9).

After further study and reflection on Babel, I think that God may have looked down in amusement as the people redoubled their efforts to reach the heavens where they would have immediate and unrestricted access to God, which may or may not have been part of God’s eternal plan. I imagine that God’s intent for the people at Babel was not that they finish the project in record time and under budget. Instead, I think God wanted the people to concentrate their thoughts and efforts to engage in the quest itself – the search to work in relationship with each other to discover Sovereign God and God’s intent for the world. So God laid on their hearts an unquenchable thirst and an indefatigable industriousness. Furthermore, God interjected diversity into the process, thereby forcing the people to grapple together with the hard issues. And the more they grappled, the more God was glorified.

The instrument of glorification was not the common language or collective wisdom the people had amassed, but the insights they gained into the nature of God and therefore the nature of people who are made in God’s image.

Genesis: The Beauty of Creation

2010-07-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

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Focus Scripture:Psalm 8 (NIV)

Applied Scripture Reflection

When I gaze upon the beauty of God’s work, sometimes all I can say is “How majestic is your name in all the earth.” Today’s scripture speaks of the wonder of God’s creation. It starts out by saying: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” There was a time in my life before I retired from the field of education that I used to commute long distances on an interstate highway to get to work. I would leave early in the morning, off to my destination. Much of the time I drove along in silence, marveling at the beauty and intricacy of what God had spoken into existence at the beginning of time. It was during these commutes that I came to understand that God’s creation truly is majestic.

The second part of today’s scripture focuses on that sense of insignificance that I felt as I drove along. For example, verses 3 and 4 say: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” What is humankind, indeed, in the face of God’s magnificence? Yes, God has made us a little lower than the angels. God has crowned us with glory and honor. God has given us dominion over all that God has made. But in the broader scheme of things, what is humankind that God is even mindful of us? How do our meager accomplishments measure up against what God has done? The answer is that they don’t.

One of the trips I made on a regular basis took me from east to west as I drove from Chicago to DeKalb on Interstate 88, which is now the Ronald Reagan Expressway. I had to leave my house before dawn to get to a meeting or a class on time. It’s interesting to note that on my way, the landscape changed many times. The trip was about 90 miles, and I used to divide it up into legs to make it more manageable. On the first leg of the trip, the landscape changed from vacant lots and concrete slabs to suburban residential communities. On the second leg of the trip, the concrete and congestion began to yield to shopping malls and office plazas. But it was on the third leg of the trip that something special always happened. Instead of office buildings, farmland stretched as far as the eye could see. And there was space all around to breathe and think and feel and to savor the beauty of what God had made.

I particularly remember the aromas of early spring. There were many open fields emitting the smells of freshly mowed grass or freshly cut crops. There were the scents of lilacs and clover and that unmistakable scent of the ground thawing in the early spring or the smell of rain in the air and the promise of new life that it all brought to mind. The colors also were vibrant. Purples and yellows and reds and greens and rich browns set against the backdrop of the blue, blue sky, sometimes dotted with clouds, sometimes not.

And there were horses. Every time I passed milepost 103, I looked to my left and saw four or five horses just standing in the field. They always faced south for some reason. This sounds silly, but every time I passed them I would wave and say “Hi, horses.” They never answered back, of course. But their very presence represented stability and wonder.

I remember one trip in particular. The highway stretched out in a flat plain ahead of me as I drove on this narrow stretch of road. And above it all was the endless sky spanning forever in all directions, unmarred by smokestacks or high-rise buildings. On that day as I looked through the windshield, I saw the sky, so clear and pure and endless, as it hung in the eternal space all around me. I was so struck by the beauty and the majesty of it all that I gasped out loud and thanked God for the Divine portrait that I beheld. But there was still more. I glanced in my rearview mirror. And there was the sun peeking over the horizon at the dawn to pay honor to the new day. The word awesome does not do justice to the beauty of that moment. I felt so blessed, but at the same time I felt absolutely insignificant in the broader scheme of things. And all I could say was Lord, Our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth! What a blessing!

During those long trips, I reached several conclusions. God is greater than our insecurities. God is greater than our pain. God is greater than our sorrow. God is greater than our disappointments. God is the author of time, the creator of our beginnings, and keeper of our endings. God is greater than the great! God is stronger than the strong! God is our all in all! And those things became very clear to me on the days that I drove from east to west in those mornings just before dawn. How honored I felt. How humbled I felt in God’s magnificent presence. And I had a strong sense of receiving a blessing that was tailor made just for me. The only thing I can say in response is “Lord, O Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Amen.

Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord

2010-06-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

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“I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the Lord!” This gladness expressed in Psalm 122 sends a message of hope and peace to all who love the church.

Peace – When most of us think of peace, we think of calm, stillness, tranquility, or silence. Peace can apply to individuals as well as to institutions, I believe. Both personal tranquility and institutional peace are characterized by a state of inner harmony and serenity. Looking at it from this standpoint, the prayer in Psalm 122 can be seen as requesting four things for the church:

The first request in Psalm 122 is for blessings for all those who love the church (v 6). Who are those who love the church? They are the people who take an active interest in all that goes on there. They relish opportunities to be involved. And they value the community as a place for friendship, fellowship, hospitality, and festivity! Those who love the church also view themselves as contributing to the body of Christ and take pleasure in doing their part, no matter how small that role may be. They are people who have the ability to look beyond the faults of the church and see her potential. This is just as true today as it was at the time the pilgrim took his journey. Verses 3-5 suggest that Jerusalem is a city in which brethren are united together. Spiritually, it is a place where the tribes go up … to give thanks to the name of the Lord. Jerusalem, then, is a city where justice and unity prevail. I believe that the things that make for peace within the city are also the things that make for peace within the modern-day church

The second request in the Psalm is that the church will be a place of security and refuge (v 7). For the city of Jerusalem, this meant absence of war within the walls of the citadel. When applied to the modern-day church this means absence of dissention and strife. The church should be a sanctuary where people can go to find fellowship, support, and safety. It should transcend human imperfection and should stand for that which is beyond time and space. The church should be a place of grace and a place of hope, where God’s people encounter God’s glory. It should be a place that cherishes human dignity and rejoices in the fact that we are children of God, made in God’s image. Lastly, the church should be a place where people seek the heart of God and God is pleased to enter the hearts of the people.

The third request made in the Psalm is that the peace of the church may extend to the family and friends of members of the community (v 8). In order to embrace the community, the church should be an inviting place, a place fellowship. It should be a setting where cooperation and generosity are commonplace, an abode where people can come together in love and trust and honesty. Not only that, the church should be a place of charity and mercy, a place of forgiveness, refuge, healing, and restoration for all who enter the gates. The church should be a place where people love their neighbors as themselves and where everyone seeks to love God above all else.

The fourth request in the Psalm is that together the people will work for the well-being of the church community (v 9). The well-being of the church community comes about when stumbling blocks have no place and petty differences are put aside for the greater good. Well-being comes about when people reach out to others and all share a common vision of that which is righteous. Community well-being is brought about when the people embrace the newness of life they have found through their Baptism and the Eucharist and the promise of everlasting joy that is associated with these sacraments. The well-being of the church is brought about when the people of God seek the Divine One with their whole hearts and continually quest for God as a purpose for their existence. All is well in the church community when people live for God’s sake (v 9) and for the sake of their fellow human beings (v 8). Finally, the church thrives when it embodies justice and love – those things that God intended for all people.

Psalm 122 is about the pilgrimage of a Jewish devotee who traveled to the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate one of the important festivals of Israel’s faith tradition. These pilgrimages were always reverent and joyful occasions. At the gates of the city people often offered up prayers on behalf of others. In this particular psalm, the pilgrim is looking back on the experience that has just taken place. The festival is over and he is now ready to return home. After summing up his impressions of the city, the pilgrim offers up a prayer. In his petition he prays for the peace of the city and the prosperity of all who love her. Jerusalem was for the Israelites in ancient times, what the church is for us today. Therefore I believe that the church, as the body of Christ, needs to seek peace actively and pursue it diligently, for the peace of the people depends on the peace of the church.

Prayer

Merciful God, I pray that you bless the body of Christ. Make the church a place of security and refuge for people in need of sanctuary. I pray that the church will extend its love and support to family and friends of the community of faith. With thanksgiving, I pray. Amen.

Creating Safe Spaces for Caregiver Support

2010-06-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

One paradigm for caregiver support is the “critical friends” model developed by the Coalition for Essential Schools. During my years as an educator, I was privileged to take part in a number of professional development experiences. These workshops and task groups varied in their methods and in their effectiveness at accomplishing targeted goals. When the goal was solving problems, creating opportunities for reflection, or providing nonjudgmental support, I found the structure and goals of the “learning community” to be most worthy of note. Specifically, some of the richest and most enlightening experiences I have had have been accomplished in Critical Friends Groups. Deborah Bambino reports that the structure and format of Critical Friends Groups created safe spaces where group members were able to open up in the spirit of trust and mutual support around a common purpose.

What is a CFG?

A Critical Friends Group (CFG) is a supportive community consisting of approximately 8-12 participants who come together voluntarily at least once a month for about 2 hours. Group members are committed to working collaboratively to solve problems brought to the group for consideration.

People often wonder about the use of the work critical in this definition. In CFG context, critical simply means: “important,” “key,” “essential,” or “urgent” such as in “critical care.” Group members begin to form bonds when they initially spend time discussing and developing norms about how to give feedback and how to question in a sensitive manner so that everyone feels comfortable. The norms might range from being on time, to watching air time, to confidentiality, to being prepared, or to challenging the thinking of group members. Trust and confidentiality must be established among participants.

What are the characteristics of a sacred supportive community?

In the context of providing spiritual support for caregivers, Critical Friends Groups are designed to provide the following:

· Create a supportive community

· Develop a safe space for talking about issues and concerns

· Cultivate collaboration

· Establish a foundation for sustained exploration of solutions

· Share experiences and information

· Benefit from collective wisdom and strength

Supportive communities should demonstrate

· Shared norms and values

· Collaboration

· Reflective dialogue

· Collective focus on problem solving

· Spirit of shared responsibility for each other

Supportive communities have the potential to thrive when there is

· Time to meet and talk

· Physical proximity

· Interdependent roles

· Active communication structures

· Opportunities for leadership and empowerment

· Fellowship

Supportive communities are enhanced when there is

· Openness to improvement

· Trust and respect

· Accurate knowledge about the issues

· Supportive leadership

· Structures that encourage the sharing

Works Cited

Bambino, Deborah. Critical Friends. Educational Leadership, 59(6), March 2002, pp. 25-27.

National Reform Faculty. Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved April 28, 2009 from http://www.nsrfharmony.org/faq.html

Cast Your Cares

2010-05-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

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Read 1 Peter 5:6-10 (New Living Translation)
6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters[a] all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. 10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.

Casting Your Cares – Relieving Stress

Peter advises his readers to cast their cares on the Master, for the Master cares. In the modern day, Peter’s advice might involve finding productive ways to relieve our stress. Many of the stress busters provided here were suggested by Stephen F. Duncan of the Montana State University Extension Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. Other items come from my own personal experiences. Some of the items are common sense. Regardless of their source, these stress busting activities will help you center your attention on developing a posture of expectancy and receptivity as you reflect on scripture and flex your spiritual muscles.

Stretch: Muscle tension is a common reaction to stress. Let go of that stress using these stretching activities:

• Neck Stretch: While standing or sitting up straight, gently tip your head to the left, hold for 30 seconds, and then return to center. Do the same on the right side.
• Side Stretch: With your feet comfortably apart and right hand on your hip, reach your left arm overhead and stretch to the right side. Hold for 30 seconds, and then switch sides.
• Chest and Back Stretch: While standing, clasp your hands behind you, arms straight, and then lift your arms up slightly. Hold for 30 seconds. Next, clasp your hands in front of you. Rotate your shoulder, reaching as far forward as you can. Hold for 30 seconds.

Exercise: People who are physically active handle stress better than those who are not active. Make time in your schedule for regular exercise. Choose an aerobic activity you can do 20-30 minutes every other day. Walking, running, swimming, and bicycling are all excellent choices. Give yourself five minutes of warm-up and five minutes of cool-down each session. Do it with friends who can help you keep your commitment, or do it alone and use the time for reflection.

Find Peace: Take time to fill your spiritual reservoir each day. Different things work for different people. Some fill their reservoir through prayer, meditation, thought, or pondering inspirational writings. Others fill it through admiring the beauties of nature or gazing into a star-filled sky. Do what brings you peace.

Listen to Your Body: Pay attention to what the voice of your body is telling you. The body speaks to us in many ways: by headaches, stiff necks, high blood pressure, or an upset stomach. When you “hear” these messages, you may be pushing yourself too hard. Slow down. Relax.

Think before You Eat: Some of us use food in unhealthy ways when we are under stress. Ask yourself how you view food. Do you view eating as a way to alleviate stress? Do you eat because you are bored? If your answer is yes, try to find more positive ways to fill your empty hours. Try reading, exercise, visiting friends, taking kids on an outing, or a hobby.

Juanita Fields Foundation Fund Raiser

2010-05-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

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2010 will be the second year that members of the Juanita Fields Foundation have participated in the Beverly Area Planning Association’s Annual Memorial Day Ridge Run 5K Run/Walk! The event is now in its 33rd year and features certified courses that wind through the historic Beverly/Morgan Park neighborhoods. The Juanita Fields Foundation is a public benefit, nonprofit 501(c) (3) corporation organized and operated for educational and charitable purposes. The Foundation participates in the Ridge Run event each year for two reasons: 1) to raise awareness about the importance of fitness and 2) to raise money for the Juanita Fields Memorial Scholarship Fund. Please visit the Foundation’s web page at http://juanitafields.org to read more about this remarkable woman and this worthy cause.

Please consider making a gift to the Juanita Fields Foundation. Together, we can make a difference! Visit the link below to make a donation.

http://fundraising.marathonguide.com/jimreed2

Donating through this site is simple, fast, and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to make a contribution. Or, if you prefer, please send your check or money order made out to:

Juanita Fields Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 438534
Chicago, IL 60643

Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!

Best regards,
Jim and Lorrie

Action Research for Christian Living Part III

2010-05-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

Image by chadbrooks via Flickr

Developing a Plan of Action
What have we learned so far that will contribute to our blueprint for action? 1) Stir into flame the gift(s) God has given us. 2) Do not be afraid to stand up for what we believe, for God has given us the spirit of power, love, and self-control. 3) Do not be ashamed to utilize the Bible as a tool for decision making. 4) Utilizing biblical truth may come with one or two measures of hardship, but, like Timothy, we should bear them with strength. 5) We should study the Word diligently so we are in a position to rightly explain its truth. 6) Finally, we should avoid moving away from the solid foundation we have been taught.

Staying on Course
Staying on course involves giving some thought to the specific issues that need to be addressed and to how we intend to bring the Word alive in relation to the issues we wish to resolve. We might have to be intentional as we identify the tasks, steps, people, places, times, materials, and other resources to make this happen. To ensure that we stay on track with our action plan, we need to evaluate our progress every step of the way. Each day ask: Am I doing what I said I would do? If not, how do I get back on track? If necessary, we should talk about it with a critical friend if the issue lends itself to such a conversation. And we need to pray about it. Let God be our critical friend. And then we wait and listen for God’s response.

Activate Your Faith
Now activate your faith. Focus on a problem or issue today’s scripture brings to mind. Spend time quietly reflecting on the Word. Jot down your reflections. Develop an action plan. Write a brief prayer.

*Note: Quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version.

Action Research for Christian Living Part II

2010-05-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

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Look
To illustrate the action research process, we will examine this question: How do we hold onto our beliefs when contradictory information is appearing all around us? Many biblical illustrations exist. The one I will focus on here is from 2 Timothy.

It is widely believed that the book of 2 Timothy is one of three letters (First and Second Timothy and Titus) written by the Apostle Paul to Gentile Christians. The second letter to Timothy addresses the work of a pastor caring for a congregation in Ephesus. There, the church is being subjected to teachings that are contradictory to those of Christ. Paul is writing to Timothy to advise, motivate, and encourage him. Evidence suggests that these letters were penned late in Paul’s career while he was imprisoned in Rome. He cites episodes from his own life to illustrate the points he is attempting to make to his protégé, Timothy. While the pastoral letters were written around 60 AD to the leaders, or pastors, of the congregations to whom they were addressed, their relevance, and their wisdom are still pertinent today. Members of the Christian community stand to benefit from the wisdom and advice contained in the epistles. With that background in mind, our action research begins as we look carefully at 2 Timothy 1-2.

Think
Thinking is the next step in the action research process. Let’s start by returning to our original question: How do we hold onto our beliefs when contradictory information is appearing all around us? In this step, we are charged with the task of interpreting and explaining what we just read. Here we address the questions: Why, What, How, Who, Where, When. As we explore and analyze we look for explanations that reveal the nature of the problem. What is happening here? How or why are things as they are? How do these things apply to my situation?

In 2 Timothy, the writer Paul instructs Timothy in how to preserve the purity of the church’s doctrine. This second letter has a personal tone and provides encouragement and further advice for the young minister whose congregation is under siege by false teachings. Paul shares his own life experiences with Timothy in an apparent effort to fortify Timothy’s steadfastness in delivering a Christian message that is true to its origins.

In protecting the community from the impact of false teaching, Timothy is advised not to be afraid of the personal attacks that might result. The writer recommends that Timothy depend on the scriptures, on proclamation of the word, and on sound doctrine. Timothy is also advised not to be intimidated by people who do not accept him.

Act
Here in the third phase of action research, we identify action steps that need to be taken in order to unpack the issue. In the focus scripture, Paul reminds young Timothy to “stir into flame the gift of God” that he has been given. “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).* Verse 8 reminds Timothy not to be ashamed of his testimony of the Lord, but to “bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.” Timothy is also told to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). Verse 19 reminds Timothy that through it all, “God's solid foundation stands, bearing this inscription, ‘The Lord knows those who are his’; and, ‘Let everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord avoid evil’.”

In the next blog post, we will develop a blueprint for action.

Action Research for Christian Living Part I

2010-05-13T12:36:00.000-07:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

As a researcher I spent a great deal of time engaged in investigating questions that had an impact on my world. One type of such inquiry was called action research and involved gathering evidence in order to change or improve day-to-day practices. There was no need for random sampling. No need to meet a set of assumptions to increase the validity of a mathematical outcome. I started out with the simple premise that the life situation under investigation “is what it is” and I desired to find some way to improve it.

For most people, action research involves systematic trial and error. The focus is on practice – how do we work with what we have to make our circumstances better than what they are now? There’s the question! How do we glean from our history and our surroundings the information we need to make better decisions? How do we raise our awareness of what is appropriate and activate a plan to make it happen?

Applied Scripture
Coming from a social science background, I usually started out by looking at prior research and theory pertaining to my problem. But I also made a conscious effort to examine my concerns from a spiritual perspective. Thus, for me, action research involved applying the principles of the Bible to my daily living. For me, action research equated to applied scripture. The approach was not only holistic, it was also simple. In the model I am proposing to you there are only three steps: Look, think, and act.

The whole process involves building a picture using evidence from a number of sources and examining wisdom from both the past and the present. Having constructed the picture, we scrutinize it using a variety of lenses and filters. Because we are human, we typically tend to start by examining the theory and the science underlying our human situations. Even as we do so, however, we recognize that science and theory cannot address that which is transcendent in each of us. So we look for spiritual guidance in the Bible, the Word of God. Hence we look, think, and act from a scriptural perspective as we apply the wisdom of the scripture to our daily problem solving. What does the scripture say?

In the next blog post, we will demonstrate how the look, think, act approach can be used to find answers to everyday questions.

Day 4: Diabetes and African Americans

2010-05-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Today’s blog post will review the impact of diabetes on African Americans. Let’s first take a look at these statistics:

• The Obesity Society reports that over 17 million Americans (6.2% of the general population) have diabetes.

African Americans are disproportionately affected by diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association, which reports:

• 3.7 million (14.7 percent) of all African Americans aged 20 years or older have diabetes.
• African Americans are 1.8 times more likely to have diabetes as non Hispanic whites.
• 25 percent of African Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 have diabetes.
• 1 in 4 African American women over 55 years of age has diabetes.

More information about weight and diabetes is available from the following websites:

Obesity Society

Health.com “Why It Pays to Lose Weight if You Have Type 2 Diabetes”

Kids Health, “Weight and Diabetes”

“Your weight and diabetes”

“Diabetes”

“Living with Diabetes: African Americans and Complication”

Day 3: Looking at the Whole Picture: Some Food for Thought

2010-05-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

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The more I learn, the more I'll share. In this blog post I will try to provide more details about diabetes and obesity.

What is diabetes?

• Diabetes “is a condition in which a person has a high blood sugar (glucose) level, either because the body doesn't produce enough insulin, or because body cells don’t properly respond to the insulin that is produced.” Insulin is an important hormone that is manufactured in the pancreas and enables the body to absorb glucose, which is then turned into energy. Improperly absorbed glucose accumulates in the blood and leads to other complications.

• There are two main types of diabetes:

• Type 1 diabetes results when the body fails to produce enough insulin. This type of diabetes occurs most often during childhood or adolescence and causes high blood sugar when your body can't make enough insulin on its own.

• Type 2 diabetes results from resistance to insulin. Resistance often means that your body does not have the ability to produce enough insulin to keep blood sugar levels in the normal, healthy range. When this happens, the sugar in your blood rises to high levels.

• Diabetes has long-term effects

• Long-term effects: Over an extended period of time, high blood sugar levels and diabetes can lead to heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, leg and foot amputations, and pregnancy complications.

The Relationship between Diabetes and Obesity

• Relationship between diabetes and obesity: Many sources have reported that Type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity and physical inactivity. People who are overweight have a much greater likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes than people whose weight falls into the normal range.

• Type 2 diabetes is preventable. Changes in lifestyle that include diet and physical activity of moderate intensity can help to reduce your chances of developing diabetes. Some sources say that managing your weight is the best thing you can do to prevent development of diabetes.

• If you already have diabetes, you can focus on overall health by choosing foods wisely, exercising regularly, and reducing your stress level, among other things. Some studies have shown that Small amounts of weight loss can decrease the amount of medication you need to keep your blood sugar in the healthy range. “Overall better nutrition, physical activity, and control of blood glucose levels can delay the progression of diabetes and prevent complications,” according to the Obesity Society.

Youth Violence: A Perennial Problem

2010-05-04T09:38:00.000-07:00

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You don’t have to think too long or look too hard to realize that none of us is really safe from violence in today’s world. Recently, as I was reviewing literature about youth violence, I read in an article by Megan Sweas, assistant editor of U. S. Catholic, that youth violence touches us all. The July 2009 issue of that publication examines the problem from various perspectives. One of those perspectives includes violence as a byproduct of original sin. In her editor’s note, Ms. Sweas says that “Original sin doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, but does that mean we should just get used to the violence that surrounds us?” My answer to that question is a resounding “No!”

As a retired public school educator and former university professor, I have listened to so many tragic stories about how violence in schools is escalating and how we have become inured to its impact on our society. I paid close attention when my former students commiserated about things that had been ventured and things that had failed to resolve the perennial issue of kids killing kids. I listened carefully as they, through their ongoing research agendas, dissected old approaches only to discover that in many urban settings decision makers have been remixing and reapplying the same worn out solutions to a problem that simply won’t go away. Is it time to push back and look at the issues from a different perspective? Are we suffering from the effects of viewing the problem from a truncated range of possibilities? Are we any where close to the heart of the matter?

Honestly, I have to say that I don’t have the answers. Nor do I believe that any one group holds the trademark on a perfect remedy. But I know this one thing: If we are going to combat youth violence, we have to do jump into the fray. We have to help kids make informed decisions based on the widest possible range of options. Otherwise a whole generation will be lost. We have to get involved, and each of us has to use what God gave us to fabricate reasonable and sustainable solutions. I’m in! What about you?

Day 2: Truncated Range in Relation to Diabetes and Obesity

2010-05-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

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In the previous blog post, I discussed what happens when the range of a distribution is truncated. This blog post will present a common example to illustrate the point. Let’s imagine that we wish to know the relationship between obesity and diabetes. Based on what we know to date, about eight out of every 10 people with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. Excess weight has been shown to have a strong correlation with type 2 diabetes, in other words. Thus, we would expect the correlation between weight and diabetes to be high as depicted by a scatter plot with a full range of cases that show an upward slope. Our conclusion: In this hypothetical case, we can say that there is a strong, positive correlation between weight and the incidence of type 2 diabetes. However, as in most situations, there is a caveat – one thing does not cause the other thing even though the relationship between the two is strong.

Now let’s suppose we wish to inspect or select only those data points that lie at the extreme ends of the scatter plot, and we wish to draw some conclusions based only on this smaller, more select number of cases (for whatever reason). In other words, we are going to try to draw conclusions based on a “truncated range” of instances. What are the consequences of doing this? The clarity of the overall vision disappears. Because we are viewing only a small number of cases at the extreme end of the range, there appears to be no relationship between the variables at all! If we calculated the correlation coefficient for this restricted range of cases, it would be artificially (spuriously) low. We’d be basing our conclusions on incomplete information. And we would be wrong. Read more in tomorrow's blog post.

The Dangers of Truncated Range

2010-05-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

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Day 1: What is truncated range?

Like everyone else, I want my decisions to be quality ones, solutions that are informed by as much information as possible, taking into account both the past and the present, along with internal as well as external cues. Like you, I want to be able to look at all the options – testing everything and holding onto that which is good. I want there to be method to my inquiry. And I want my conclusions to be based on a broad frame of reference so I don’t fall prey to error due to “truncated range.” To truncate means to cut off, to restrict something so that it goes only so far and no further. Truncation as a statistical concept is often applied to interpretation of correlations. When the range of view is too narrow it is easy for one to reach inaccurate conclusions about the relationship between two things.

Typically when a statistician wants to show the strength and direction of a relationship, she will use data points to indicate their coordinates on a scatter plot. If a positive correlation exists between two variables the plot will show a distribution pattern with an upward slope, meaning that as one variable increases in value, so does the other. (The higher one’s grade point average, the higher is one’s score on the ACT or SAT exam, for example.) If the correlation is negative, the opposite is true; as one variable increases in value, the value of the other variable decreases, thus resulting in a downward slope. (The greater one’s athleticism, the lower is one’s golf score, for example.) If there is no relationship between the two variables, the pattern is represented by a flat line, a line of best fit that is parallel to the X axis. In order to see the upward, downward, or flat trend accurately, the statistician has to plot a sufficient number of cases, and she has to look at their full range of distribution on the scatter plot. Otherwise, she is restricting or truncating the view.

Theological Reflection on Alzheimer’s Disease

2010-01-24T19:47:00.000-08:00

In remembrance of James T. Reed, Jr. (1928-2010)

What can I say about James T. Reed, Jr., my father-in-law? He was an enigma, a complex man, infuriating yet endearing all at the same time. On the outside he wore this harsh exterior. But if you looked below the surface, you could see a sensitive, vulnerable soul who hoped with all his heart that when he reached out to others they would reach back to him. During his lifetime, he worked his way from the bottom up in an effort to show the world that he was good enough. He was a man of determination who resolved early in life to walk tall and to live free and to rise above the circumstances of his birth. He spent a great deal of time and energy demonstrating to the world that he could stride alongside any man or woman regardless of their race or social status or politics. In many ways he was indomitable.

Then Alzheimer’s disease attacked my father-in-law in his later years. My husband, daughter, granddaughter, and I used to go to visit Daddy in the nursing home every week. At first, Daddy was able to communicate, maintaining the ability to engage in conversation and to share his spirit, his presence, his wants, and his needs. As the disease progressed he could express his attendance to our presence only by non-verbal means such as eye contact and purposive body language.

Sometimes upon arriving for our visit, we would ask him how he was. “Cold and hungry,” he would reply. So we retrieved an extra blanket from the linen rack and went down to the snack bar to get him something to eat. That satisfied his needs for a time.

On a few occasions he simply didn’t want to be bothered with us or anyone else. When we arrived on those days my husband would say “Hi, Daddy.” My father-in-law would respond “Hi, Son.” Then he would lower his head and pretend to be sleep. Daddy kept his eyes closed through the entire visit. But we saw through the ruse and insisted on being present with him in spite of his lack of hospitality. So we’d sit by his bedside for 30 minutes or so talking among ourselves about people he knew and events that had occurred since our last visit. Even though Daddy could not participate in the conversation – and even though he was supposed to be sleep – he gave little signals to show that he was listening. When he truly was ready for us to leave, Daddy would start fidgeting in his chair and scowling. My husband would then nod his head to signal that is was time to go. “We have to go now. Bye, Daddy. We love you,” my husband would say. Daddy would open his eyes, look up, and respond, “Goodbye, Son,” after which he would lower his head once again and continue with his pretense of sleep.

There were other visits, more disturbing times, when my father-in-law had retreated to a place of impenetrable reverie. Our words could not reach him there. Those were the visits that left us feeling helpless and unsettled. I used to wonder where Daddy went during those episodes of repose when he seemed to be alone within himself. I found it painful to watch this once bombastic, obstreperous, intimidating, vibrant, life-loving man decline to a person who couldn’t even remember what he had for breakfast. None of it made sense to me, and I hate confusion. I had a need for the pieces to fit together; I had a need to figure it out. So I began to reflect theologically on the issue.

My reflections focused on Psalm 139. In this scripture, the psalmist speaks of God: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (vv 7-10, NIV).

I believe that during those times when my father-in-law drifted to that inner place, God was with him. This scripture reassured me that even as we sat in Daddy’s room on those silent days, God was embracing my father-in-law with a steadfast and everlasting love. I believe that in the throes of Alzheimer’s disease my father-in-law was resting in a state of peacefulness with God, the Maker of Light: “even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you (v 12).”

After reflecting on Psalm 139, I am convinced that the darkness of Alzheimer’s disease is not greater than our Creator who has searched us and known us and is acquainted with all our ways. I believe that during those dark times, God was beaming his eternal light into the spirit of my father-in-law. And I believe with all my heart that my father-in-law’s spirit is now at rest and peace with God, the Lord of Light.

Receiving New Sight

2009-11-22T16:19:00.000-08:00

Back in the 1980’s there was a movement underway called “multicultural education.” The goal of the movement was to broaden people’s perspectives about culture in order to make them understand that there was more than one right way to view the world. One of the tools used by workshop presenters was the picture of a woman. If you looked at the picture from one point of view, you saw an older lady with a large nose and a wrinkled face. Participants in the workshop were asked to continue looking at the picture to see if they could glimpse anything else in the image. As they persisted in staring at the picture some of them had an “aha!” moment. They reported seeing the visage of a much younger woman who was wearing a stylish hat. Her face was turned to the side in a silhouette. Those who watched as the old woman transformed into a young woman had “received new sight” so to speak. But the funny thing about their new perspective was that once the switch had been made, they were never again able to look at the picture without seeing both women.

The scriptural inspiration for today's reflection pertains to a blind man, who was sitting on the side of the road as Jesus passed by on the road to Jericho. I wonder if this is what happened to the man after he “received his sight” that day. The text tells us that after the healing the blind man followed Jesus and became one of Jesus’ disciples. Does that mean that as a disciple the man who was formerly blind sought to walk where Jesus walked, to do what Jesus did, and to see what Jesus saw? After receiving his sight and being on the road with Jesus for a while, I wonder if the man was able to perceive the world with greater compassion or to view reality through the eyes of justice. I wonder if he was able to look at his neighbors through lenses of love. Sometimes I wonder.

Inspired by Luke 18:35-43

The Discipline of Daily Devotionals

2009-11-20T06:59:00.000-08:00

"My mother’s great Aunt Belle modeled a kind of Spiritual Renewal process for me when I was a little girl. Aunt Belle lived in a third floor walk up on east 67th Street in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago. To get to the bathroom in her apartment, you had to pass by Aunt Belle’s bedroom. That’s where you could find her every morning spending quiet time with the Lord. As you tiptoed past her door to wash up and brush your teeth you could hear her reading her Bible slowly. She savored each word, tracing the lines of the text with her fingers so she wouldn’t lose her place. She would read a while; then she’d hum a while, occasionally whispering the name of Jesus through a toothless smile. Her routine did not change for as long as I knew her. Every day of her life, Aunt Belle took comfort from knowing that Jesus was her Redeemer, her very own personal Savior. She lived her convictions through the discipline of daily devotionals."

--from Spiritual Renewal

Thief

2009-11-19T15:36:00.000-08:00

You had no right to steal my life
Minding my own business, I was satisfied
To play the child I was entitled to be

Then you stunted my development
Ripped out my joy, disturbed my peace
Truncated my youth and killed my hope

Now as bitter and thankless as you
I am restless in the daytime
Sleepless and fitful in the night

Afraid that I have gone blind
For I can’t see my future from here
And I’m terrified to venture into the dark

-- from Spiritual Renewal

Domestic Violence

2009-11-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

"Domestic violence has been around for a very long time—dating back to antiquity. One of the earliest biblical accounts of violence in the home is documented in Genesis 4 when Cain slays his brother Abel (v 8). Another account describes a man who was traveling with an entourage. Strangers expressed a wish to do harm to those in the group. The leader of the traveling group offered the strangers his virgin daughter and his concubine to appease them. “I will bring them out to you now,” said the man, “and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But to this man, don’t do such a disgraceful thing” (Judges 19:24). Genesis 37 provides another example featuring the sons of Jacob, who are jealous of their brother Joseph: “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams” (v 19-20). In 2 Samuel 13:1–16, the rape of Tamar by her half-brother Amnon is described."

"The term domestic violence, broadly defined, encompasses abuse found in child/child, parent/child, spouse/spouse, partner/partner, adult child/aging parent relationships, as well as violence among siblings and in dating relationships. This social malady constitutes a purposeful pattern of coercive behavior that takes the form of repeated physical, sexual, emotional/psychological, economic, and spiritual abuse tactics. Domestic violence typically takes place in the context of dating, family, or household relationships. According to Miki Paul, abuse deprives one of freedom of doing what one wishes; in other cases abuse forces one to behave in ways one does not want to behave. 'Domestic violence is simply a show of power by one person over another. Perpetrators choose to demonstrate to their partners that they are in control, no matter what'.”

--from Spiritual Renewal

Engaging with Expectancy

2009-11-18T09:25:00.000-08:00

"As we engage with expectancy in devotional reading, prayer, and critical reflection, we receive spiritual insight through the Word of Truth. ... What we know spiritually often cannot be expressed in words alone. Sometimes it takes a groan, a sway, a song, a shout, a dance, a clap, or a posture of prayer to communicate our thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Sometimes through use of such mechanisms we can come close to figuring things out. At other times, we just have to trust the leading of the Holy Spirit and rest in the mystery of Almighty God as we are guided by our peace."

--from Spiritual Renewal

In the Manner of Job

2009-11-13T19:42:00.000-08:00

It was my third year as administrator in a moderately sized junior high school. The demographic makeup of the suburban school district had changed, with poor minorities increasing dramatically in a short time. Labeled as miscreants and “bad kids,” the school’s minority children generally were demeaned and treated with disrespect by their teachers. Yet, I saw these children in a different light. With the exception of the hard-core social outcasts, it was my belief that if you treated children with respect, they would reciprocate. If you took time to really listen to them, they would begin to let you in on their frustrations. And if you loved them, they would love you back. Far from the demons many of the teachers accused them of being, they were just kids. And during that school year, I took on the task of championing the cause of these children.

Generally, when a champion goes to war, she has allies to whom she can turn. That was not the case for me. In September, one of the central office administrators who had been one of my staunch allies died of cancer, leaving me with no one to speak on my behalf at the district level. In October, one of the teachers I had reprimanded for her cruelty to children vowed to destroy me and engaged in the task with gusto. On November 1, my brother was removed from his respirator after spending three weeks in a coma caused by someone’s pushing him down a flight of stairs in a murder attempt that proved to be successful when all was said and done. On November 4, my husband’s grandmother died; she had been one of the few relatives who had embraced me unconditionally after I married into the family. On November 19, my maternal great aunt, who was selfless and pure in heart, passed away.

To top things off, early in December, I developed pneumonia and was ordered to stay in bed for two weeks. As a result, I missed a great deal of school. Instead of cards and flowers encouraging me to get well soon, the school district superintendent sent me a reprimand for excessive absenteeism. I remember telling my secretary at that time, “I feel like Job.” Because I had no one else to turn to, I turned to God. My faith sustained me then and is doing so to this day.

In retrospect, I can say that my insights were comparable but not identical to those of Job. My experiences taught me about people, for example. I learned that most people at that school were not worthy of my trust and that in far too many cases when I expected the worst from them I was never disappointed. The teachers were threatened by what they didn’t understand, and rarely did they understand perspectives other than their own. And I learned that people generally were not steadfast and noble.

My experiences also taught me about God. God, during that episode in my life, became a force that replenished my depleted soul. Though adversity continues to swirl like a tempest all around me, God has never failed to give me comfort and hope when times are at their darkest. My experiences during that school year taught me to trust God completely. The world has not changed. Human nature has not been transformed. But I have. I have learned to glean peace from the grace of God, and I can say as did Job, the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Inspired by Job 1:21

Justice as Empowerment

2009-11-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

The whole idea of empowering people seems right to me. I believe that empowerment derives from liberation, and liberation opens the door to justice at all levels of society. From a moral and theological standpoint, this brings to mind many questions: How empowering would it be if all people were healthy, whole, and capable of pulling their own weight? What if everyone took responsibility for forging the kind of relationships that would be mutually affirming? What if justice stood as the norm in the community? I submit to you that cultivating empowerment entails addressing these and similar questions on both a macro and a micro level, simultaneously.

At the macro level, justice makers might confront political disenfranchisement, economic disparity, and social dissolution. Their appeals might focus on heightening awareness of the issues and supporting attendant changes in policy. As another macro-level strategy, justice makers might expose the plague of inequity by encouraging downtrodden people to tell their stories. This kind of action at the macro level has potential to break the chains that hobble people who are oppressed. Even so, justice will still not be possible until change has occurred at all levels of the community, including the micro level.

At the micro level, the empowerment task might involve shedding light on the pathways traveled by the disenchanted and those who are hopelessly lost. This micro-level impetus would obligate every member of the community to pay attention to the needs of those people who are scorned, brutalized, and nearly defeated by life. At the same time micro-level justice makers might need to chisel away the shackles of physical victimization and psychological despair. Other steps would surely be involved, but one thing is certain. Only when thoroughgoing change has occurred at both the macro and micro levels of every community can justice stand as the norm for the entire society.

Inspired by Matthew 25:34-40

In the Spirit of Harmony

2009-11-06T19:59:00.000-08:00

Not too long ago, buying low and selling high became the sport of the day while property renovation and new home sales flourished. In the process, the rich got richer. And the poor embarked on a search for affordable housing. Displaced by construction, former low-income residents often fled in mass to the suburbs in search of decent, affordable places to live. Unfortunately, upon arriving in the new communities, these exiles came face to face with the usual things that divide oppressors from the oppressed. Both long-term residents and newcomers harbored dark suspicions that rendered them blind to compassion. Both failed to recognize their similarities and differences. They failed to discern their common hopes and dreams. And because they could not see one another, they tiptoed in the darkness that blinded them, stumbling past the middle ground on which they could have built a foundation for mutual understanding.

With communication at an impasse, sentiments of mistrust and resentment seized the day. Tensions continued to build, and in the electrified atmosphere, the rich were pitted against the poor, the white against the other, and the language majority against the language minority. This friction manifested in cynicism, apathy, and sometimes anger and violence. To make matters worse, it wasn’t long before the bottom dropped out of the housing market and the economy took a big hit, leaving both the rich and the poor stymied by a crisis of hope. And without hope, all the people languished.

The scripture that inspired today’s meditation pertains to unity and to hope. What does it mean to have unity? I submit to you that the communal unity I am describing is not about casual, fleeting relationships. Rather, this unity speaks of an abiding harmony that is essential to cultivating communication, compassion, and community. What if the people in the communities I described had been united as one in the spirit of justice and love? I can only imagine the hope that would be engendered if our relationships were built on what is good and right and true.

Inspired by John 17:1-11

When Words Are Not Enough

2009-11-02T10:37:00.000-08:00

Although we may speak the same words, our ability to communicate is often limited by intervening variables. For example, the everyday language we use today is subjective, ambiguous, and highly contextual. When language is used to deal with abstract concepts, lofty ideals, or charged emotions, the words, phrases, idioms, and figures of speech we employ often serve as factors that complicate understanding and therefore impede, rather than facilitate, communication. Matters are further complicated because our use of language is imprecise and bound by caveats, all of which serve to muddle clarity and hinder transmission and reception of meaning. Moreover, in the context of discourse about personal matters, some of the images and experiences we wish to communicate may be too painful, too shameful, or too personal to convey with mere words as conventional tools of rhetoric. So we fudge on the details.

Cultural diversity also has to be considered as a factor that impedes rather than facilitates the communication process in a pluralistic environment. Once a message has been formulated, sent, and received, deciphering the message is governed by culturally determined factors. Social scientist Lisa Delpit has written extensively about diversity issues in communication. She contends that cross-cultural understanding becomes highly complicated when people are called on to engage in dialogue across social, racial, and cultural lines. Delpit believes that such situations require a type of listening that engages not only the eyes and the ears but also the heart and the mind. She says this is so because we tend not to “see” things through our eyes nor “hear” things through our ears. Rather, we tend to filter information through the lenses of our beliefs. Delpit is careful to note that these lenses operate on an involuntary basis – often below the level of conscious awareness – leading to the faulty conclusions and misunderstanding.

Communicating about the transcendent is even more difficult because each of us is the keeper of a unique perspective, a perspective shaped by our past experiences and our prospects for the future. On any given day some of us may be gazing at the world through rose colored glasses while others may be seeing it through lenses of jade. When the media manufactures foreboding, some people may tend to search the horizon for sources of hope while others wallow in gloom and doom. Although some people are apt to see nothing but the storm clouds, others will always be able to spy the faintest rainbow. Moreover, as we share our ideas with each other (as we are compelled to do), we would not be able to convey precisely our phenomenological understanding of how God is at work in all of these circumstances. Even so, most of us would probably arrive at the conclusion that there must be a God somewhere. Armed with such knowledge, we would be driven to tell and retell our stories until we arrive at something that reconciles with the Truth about God’s character and explicates our relationship with the Almighty. Hence, with respect to communication, when words are not enough, faith will just have to prevail.

Theological Reflection: “The Day after Tomorrow”

2009-10-31T03:18:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago, I watched a rerun of “The Day after Tomorrow,” a movie in which a natural disaster froze the northern hemisphere and ushered in a new ice age. Money lost its worth. Books provided fuel rather than knowledge. Clothing protected rather than adorned. Cars and yachts were turned into relics. And humankind’s philosophical wisdom became obsolete. Those things that prevailed during the disaster were timeless and intangible: compassion, loyalty, patience, humility, and self-control, among others. That some of the people in the movie possessed these characteristics became evident in the actions they took to support each other in the face of almost certain doom.

When such virtuous characteristics are internalized as part of one’s spiritual make up, it becomes evident in the person’s attitudes and behaviors. Unfortunately, in this day and age, personal virtue too often has taken a back seat to ambiguity, conformity, and fear. In such worrisome times, many people are drifting from one questionable trend to the next, searching for hope, craving stability, and desperately seeking solid and sure points of reference. I submit to you that one place to look for answers when “the day after tomorrow” comes is the Word of God.

Inspired by Galatians 5:22-23

My Soul Is a Witness

2009-10-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

"When it comes to domestic violence, the sins of the ancestors are visited on the children to the third and fourth generation, and beyond. Witnessing violence daily often causes a sense of helplessness in the child. Children who witness domestic violence bear permanent psychological and emotional scars. Too often, these children become the next generation of batterers or maladjusted members of society, although not all people who were abused will become abusers. Likewise, not all people who were victimized as children become victims, although men who are perpetrators most likely have been scarred at some point during their formative years. Regardless of the circumstances, children who were abused or who witnessed abuse in the home tend to be diminished by their past experiences. One way to be set free from such bondage is to turn the confusion over to the Lord, the healer and liberator."

--from Spiritual Renewal

Organizational Apathy

2009-10-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

Apathy is an insidious disease in educational organizations. Its symptoms are teacher burn out, student discipline problems, academic failure, community dissatisfaction, and other deadly woes that stand in the way of teaching and learning. Based on many years as an educator, I have identified at least four phases of this dreaded disease: being amazed, appalled, amused, and finally apathetic. While this disease can affect almost anyone, there is reason to hope. Apathy is neither inevitable nor permanent. If its degenerative pattern is detected early enough, apathy can be treated and reversed at any point in the cycle.

The first symptom of organizational apathy involves being amazed. According to Webster’s dictionary, amazement is evident when a person is perplexed or taken aback. This state of bewilderment occurs when what a person observes fails to reconcile with what that person expects. Unfortunately, a person can sustain prolonged cognitive dissonance for only so long before growing disheartened and drifting into the next phase in the cycle.

Being appalled erupts when amazement continues without resolution. This state of mind is a reaction to severe organizational stress. Operationally, when a situation is appalling, it has advanced to the point of inspiring horror, dismay, or disgust. This phase continues until the situations that gave rise to the indignation become so ridiculous as to evoke a reaction of humor.

That’s when amusement kicks in. Humor at this stage serves as a relief reaction to being appalled. When one is amused, one seeks to entertain or to occupy one’s thoughts in a light, playful, or pleasant manner. Amusement is a diversion that distracts one’s attention from worry or routine occupation. But laughing to keep from crying can last for only so long before apathy takes over.

Apathy is the final stage in the cycle. It entails absence of feeling or emotion, characterized by impassiveness, lack of interest, and indifference. Being apathetic means having or showing little concern for things outside of the self. In many ways, apathy can signal a state of spiritless, a place of defeat and fatigue.

How does one break the progression? In some situations, movement towards apathy can be short circuited by responsible leadership in an organization. On other occasions, intervention may involve the use of reflective thinking, collaborative problem solving, and research-based planning for systemic change. Intervention may also require community input and fresh insights from outside stakeholders. In still other cases, intervention may depend on hefty doses of motivation, inspiration, and creativity. But in the final analysis, intervention will almost certainly demand a radical departure from the old way of doing things. And I believe that a new road to organizational well-being must be paved with unity and trust if apathy is to be eradicated.

Endurance as an Matter of Ethics

2009-10-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

African American women possess the amazing ability to glean ethical truth from pain and suffering. Katie Cannon reached this conclusion after studying the dehumanizing impact of chattel slavery through the writings of Zora Neale Hurston. Cannon observed that many of Hurston’s characters are Black females who possess a distinctive ingenuity “that allows them to fashion a set of values on their own terms as well as to master, radicalize, and sometimes destroy pervasive negative orientations imposed by the larger society.” Hurston’s literature further demonstrates that in many cases Black women had no choice but to embrace suffering in order to survive. In fact, the very act of enduring through hardship fine tuned their ability to grapple with and find ways to reconcile the more subtle and difficult questions of rightness, fairness, and equity in a society that held them in contempt because of their race, sex, and class. Endurance in the face of suffering, then, became an ethical characteristic of life for Black women.

I applaud Cannon’s call to utilize literature by and about Black women to shed light on the reality of Black existence in America. I also identify with her observations about the devastating impact of slavery on African Americans in general. Although Cannon’s research was reported in 1995, its conclusions are just as illuminating today.

Works Cited

Cannon, Katie Geneva. 1995. Katie’s Canon: Womanism and the Soul of the Black Community. New York: Continuum.

Forgiveness as Liberation

2009-10-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

There is healing in forgiveness, according to Genevieve Jacques in her book entitled Beyond Impunity. I wholeheartedly endorse Jacques’ view, especially as it pertains to domestic violence. She reports that because it permits victims to free themselves from a state of deep resentment, the act of forgiveness is also an act of liberation, releasing the poison of resentment’s sting and allowing the victim to move forward gradually. Make no mistake about it. Forgiveness is not equivalent to forgetting the wrong committed against the victim. Even though the victim may be able to pardon the perpetrator, s/he will not be able to forget the violent acts that gave rise to the hurt. In spite of it all, healing cannot begin until the work of forgiveness has been initiated.

Believe it or not, in some political circles, the term forgiveness currently is not a part of the ongoing, everyday dialogue pertaining to domestic abuse. In fact many involved in the domestic violence movement believe that to entertain forgiveness would be to draw attention away from the unacceptability of the abusive acts. Brenda Smith, author of “Battering, Forgiveness, and Redemption,” disagrees with this group and contends that forgiveness is necessary because letting go of rancor and embracing redemption facilitate healing in persons injured through domestic violence. I would add to Smith’s argument the proposition that accountability has to be included in any program that is to be liberating in the long run.

At least one author has focused on this element of accountability. In A Human Being Died That Night, Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela observes that forgiveness releases the victim from a state of bitterness and resentment. At the same time, it requires much effort from all parties involved if the burden is to be lifted and the wound healed. Particularly in cases of domestic violence, the deliberate process of forgiveness can be effective when it requires the perpetrator to engage in an act of genuine apology that acknowledges full responsibility for the violent behaviors. The perpetrator’s apology has the potential to clear the air and mend the connections between the parties involved. While no adequate words exist to erase or reverse the atrocities that have been committed, in the face of forgiveness, shackles are broken, and the survivor is liberated to breathe, to heal, and to thrive.

Barbara Sizemore: Educational Advocate

2009-10-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

Dr. Barbara A. Sizemore devoted her professional career to expanding the educational opportunities of African American students in poor urban settings. An advocate for a highly structured curriculum, she was hired to run the politically and financially troubled educational system in the District of Columbia, where she served as their first African American female superintendent. Her tenure in D. C. proved to be riddled with tension and somewhat short lived. Consequently, Sizemore left the superintendent’s position under pressure percolated by philosophical differences with the Board of Education.

Following her exit from D.C., Sizemore began teaching at DePaul University in Chicago and later became dean of the University's School of Education. There she took a controversial stand on the use of standardized tests, which she referred to as "the new lynching tool." She made it known that one of her goals as a university educator was to beat the system at its own game. Thus, in opposition to many popular pedagogical theories of the day, her campaign became focused on helping African American children improve their scores on standardized tests.

In 1994, Sizemore launched a program called School Achievement Structure (SAS). Through implementation of this program, Sizemore gained a reputation for taking over schools that no one else wanted and making them work. The process was designed to help intervene in failing schools and boost student success. Even so, Sizemore’s program was not without its controversies.

While the Chicago Public School System lauded her approach to school improvement, not everyone supported Sizemore’s efforts. She contended that practices like cooperative learning and whole-language for reading and writing instruction didn’t have a high degree of success with low-income children attending racially isolated schools in impoverished neighborhoods. She said such processes worked with middle-class children who come to school already reading and with students who already possess the social skills to flourish in classrooms that give them plenty of choices. Hence, she promoted test score improvement as the prime mover in educational success of low-income students.

Many of her critics, on the other hand, favored small, nurturing, family-like settings that gave students time and space to build trusting relationships within the learning community. Such schools, they contended, promoted social justice and self-determination among children from impoverished environments. In small schools involving parents, teachers, students, and other stakeholders as equal, caring partners in the learning process, test scores were bound to increase, according to Sizemore’s critics.

Although both Sizemore and her critics advocated for promoting social responsibility within the school system by closing the achievement gap between the rich and the poor, their strategies for attaining the goal diverged on many key methodological points. Sizemore’s approach emphasized test performance. The critics emphasized attending not only to the test but also, simultaneously, to the social, psychological, emotional, and intellectual needs of children.

The jury is still out on which methods work best, and the debate continues. Nevertheless, Sizemore has left her mark on education in Chicago Public Schools. She died July 24, 2003, at her home in Chicago. She was 77 years of age.

In the Spirit of Educational Truth

2009-10-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

Our current educational system finds itself in the position of promoting knowledge without truth, facts without depth, and trivia that will have no impact upon poverty, hunger, or injustice in this world. Rather than teaching students to think critically about the problems faced by humanity, children are asked to memorize discrete, de-contextualized bits of minutia that they must give back on standardized tests or be penalized in a number of social and economic ways. What will be the impact of this narrow minded type of education on the serious moral and ethical issues that will challenge our world in the generations to come? History has given us some clues and has shown us that what and how we teach this generation of children will affect children in the future. And the problem won’t go away if it is ignored.

Lots of examples from the past bear this out, but I would like to cite an example from my own African American cultural context. Prior to the abolition of slavery in this country, outspoken protesters like David Walker appealed to the nation for justice in educational opportunities for people who were held in chattel slavery. Nevertheless, rather than doing the right thing for the right reasons, pro-slavery activists at the time made it a crime to teach slaves to read and write in America. Later these laws were changed, but by the time the affected children obtained a legal right to an equal education, precious ground had been lost. The long-term effect of this injustice created an achievement gap that continues in many forms into the present day.

But there’s something else about this situation that I don’t quite understand. Now that all children have been given a right to learn, how will making them memorize discrete information without an understanding of the underlying truth teach them how to become self-sufficient? How will it help them make better decisions about their futures? How will it help them choose communication and cooperation over visceral reactions and violence? How will it help them make this world a better world? Where is the justice in such a system? Finally, what if those who were responsible for developing educational policy in America could find a way to unite with each other in the spirit of educational truth? What if?

Educational Impact of Slavery

2009-10-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

Historical records indicate that David Walker was probably born in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1796 or 1797, the child of a father who was a slave and a mother who was free. As a consequence of his parentage, Walker was a free man – for the laws of the day declared that if the mother was free, so was the son. Regardless of his emancipated status, as a young man, Walker witnessed daily the degradations and injustices that accompanied slavery. Eventually, Walker left North Carolina and settled in Boston, where he joined a number of organizations that openly denounced slavery in the South and discrimination in the North. He frequently contributed articles to Freedom’s Journal, the nation's first African American newspaper, and, according to PBS Online, by the end of 1828, he had gained renown as Boston’s leading spokesman against slavery.

Walker’s Appeal was published in 1829. The impact of the Appeal was far reaching, according to William Scarborough, a professor of History at University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. PBS Online reports that partially in response to treatises such as the Appeal, pro-slavery advocates in Georgia, Louisiana, and North Carolina passed legislation making it a crime to teach slaves to read and write. Other southern states followed suit. In my opinion, such legislation has had a devastating and enduring impact on the education, social status, and economic well-being of people whose descendants were slaves.

David Walker's Appeal

2009-10-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

David Walker’s Appeal is an expression of outrage on one hand and a call for liberation on the other. Published in 1829, the Appeal was considered to be a radical statement against chattel bondage and was meant to decry slavery on multiple levels. Walker believed that enslaved Black people had a responsibility to participate in their own emancipation and salvation through education and religion. Among the slaves, this document inspired “a sense of pride and hope” (PBS Online 2007). Among supporters of slavery, on the other hand, the Appeal inspired anger. It has been reported that, in direct response to the Appeal, a hefty bounty was placed on Walker’s head. Yet he refused to flee, instead opting to continue his advocacy for emancipation. Historical accounts report that in August of 1830, Walker was found dead in his home. Some of these accounts allege that he had been poisoned; others suggest that he died of tuberculosis. Regardless of the cause of his death, David Walker’s appeals for the abolition of ignorance, racism, fear, poverty, and despair still resonate with freedom-loving people in the present day.

Mental Fitness

2009-10-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

"Mental fitness is defined as a state of emotional and psychological well-being. Indicators of mental health can be seen in individuals who are able to use their cognitive and emotional capabilities effectively, to function in society and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life....Like any other living organ, the mind requires nourishment. ...To remain vibrant this complicated instrument called the mind also requires exercise on a regular basis. ...Moreover, the mind functions best when it is in sync with the body and the spirit. From a theological standpoint, this has implications for spiritual transformation. Through the renewing of the mind we are in a better position to discern that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God—the One who blessed us with this amazing faculty."

...from Spiritual Renewal

Prayer as Communication

2009-10-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

Prayer is critical to the process of spiritual renewal, for it represents a mechanism for clarification and communication. With most forms of communication, as we talk to each other, we gain a better sense of who we are in relation to the other. When this interaction does not occur, misunderstanding results and signals get crossed. The same is true in our communication with God, in my opinion. The more we talk to God, the more acute is our understanding of who God is. The better we understand God, the more likely we are to trust God. And if we trust, we are better able to "wait and be still."

-- from Spiritual Renewal

Pink Begonias

2009-10-16T09:30:00.001-07:00

© 2009 by Lorrie C. Reed

In honor of my elders with dementia

Your eyes revealed an inner peace
While, with effort, you ate your soup at lunchtime
And tranquility kept us company, sharing the presence
That stretched between us and the pink begonias
Nestled in the sun-drenched window box

It Felt Like Love

2009-10-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

Today I sat on the sidelines at the half-way point of the Chicago Marathon and watched as participants passed by. They came in all shapes, colors, sizes, ages, and dispositions. Some sprang forward with more than a little pep left in their step after almost 13 miles of constant movement. Others ambled along at a more casual pace. Still others struggled, pressing with great concentration to put one foot in front of the other. Even in the midst of such diversity, there was something common to all the participants. That something, I believe was determination. They persevered. Committed to staying in the race, they moved forward, at their own respective paces, striving to reach some goal that they had set.

As I looked up and down the course, it occurred to me that even the onlookers played a role in this scenario. We were the side-liners, the well wishers, with bells, whistles, kazoos, and other motivators, supporting these runners, uplifting them, and cheering them on. In a spirit of unity and solidarity, our mere presence encouraged them to “keep on keeping on.” The whole scene reminded me of life enacted in microcosm on a chilly Sunday morning. At that half-way point of the marathon we were linked by our similarities, not separated by our differences. And it felt like love.

One in the Spirit

2009-10-10T17:38:00.000-07:00

In the year 2000 a phrase was recited in the context of a political campaign speech. The words promised that no child would be left behind in our educational system. What a righteous idea! As an educator, I could imagine the blessings of such a promise. So I dared to hope, while I waited and watched as the speakers of this promise were placed into office. I waited and watched for the promise to be forged into reality. And I waited and watched this nation’s political leadership engage in acerbic partisan rhetoric. Discouraged by now; I watched in dismay as the promise remained unfulfilled for so long that it simply morphed into a lie. In the year 2009, the new catch phrase appears to be health care. What if this nation’s leaders – whether in the year 2000 or the year 2009 – could set aside their differences and become one in the spirit of justice for the downtrodden?

Understanding Trauma

2009-08-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

"According to the American Red Cross, in the face of an overwhelming event, people may tend to feel helpless, powerless, and unable to protect themselves. Not everyone has immediate reactions; some reactions are delayed and may show up days, weeks, or even months later. Some people may never have a reaction. A traumatic event can reactivate the emotions associated with previous traumas, which can be overpowering. Trauma occurs when the victim perceives that neither resistance nor escape is possible. The traumatized individual may experience intense emotion without clear memories of the event -- or may remember everything in detail without emotion. Traumatic symptoms have a tendency to become disconnected from their source and to take on a life of their own."

-- from Spiritual Renewal

A Journey Inward

2009-07-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

"Theologian Diana Eck has examined the Holy Spirit in light of Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism and concluded that 'the stories of the touch of the Spirit are as many as there are individuals and communities.' I agree with her conclusion and endorse her observation that to be touched by the Holy Spirit requires our ability to surrender to the presence of God."

--from Spiritual Renewal

Spiritual Fitness

2009-07-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

"As the result of developing spiritual fitness we prepare ourselves to use all of our faculties -- mind, body, and spirit -- to carry out God's will by the agency of the Holy Spirit that was poured out on us when Jesus ascended to return to glory with God. That same Holy Spirit is an inner voice that teaches, comforts, guides, and intercedes for us. As we become more spiritually fit we are able to trust that inner voice to a greater extent. Spiritual fitness then allows us to discern God's will. It conditions us to walk in the light and to exhibit the good Fruit of the Spirit."

-- from Spiritual Renewal

Quest for God

2009-07-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

"...the Master teaches us that if we seek the Kingdom of His righteousness, all else will be ours. We will not be guaranteed against failure, but we will learn that we may fail again and again and yet be assured always that we are not mistaken in what we affirm with all our hearts and souls." -- Howard Thurman

Read more in Spiritual Renewal...

Strive for Balance in Life!

2009-07-09T07:56:00.000-07:00

"...the mind is responsible for the intellect, emotions, and will. Dissonance might arise when we experience emotions such as anger, disappointment, shame, guilt, unhappiness, or displeasure. And quite often, the emotions can trigger disquiet in the body and spirit. Our systems make every effort in these instances to restore the harmony that is missing. To live life holistically is to strive for balance in all things."

-- from Spiritual Renewal

The Spirit of Praise

2009-07-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

"Unlike the European tradition of spiritual formation, the spirituality of slaves was passed down through oral traditions that resounded with promise. Biblical stories, accounts of miracles, and psalms offered hope to enslaved Christian people. Because of prohibitions on teaching slaves to read and write, these biblical accounts were often memorized and passed orally from one generation to the next, but not indiscriminately. Many sources reveal that it was not uncommon for slaves to reject portions of the “book religion” that endorsed slavery, for if a better life was not possible for them in the here and now, it surely would be available to them in the hereafter."

-- from Spiritual Renewal

As Way Closes to Way

2009-06-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

Do you know where you're headed? "...for several decades I stumbled blindly down a pathway in search of validation and fulfillment. More often than not, the only clue I had about which direction to take was signaled by doors that slammed shut behind me as I passed through them. ...I realized that my destination -- my calling -- had been mapped out not by a process of ways opening up before me, but rather by ways that have closed behind me. ... One of those ways led me to renewal." -- from Spiritual Renewal

Submission: A Short Story

2009-06-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

by Lorrie C. Reed
© March 9, 2007

As soon as Jennifer entered the narthex, her heart began to flutter. She breathed deeply of the lemon scented air and paused to let her eyes adjust to the florescent light. Passing a window pane in the entry way, she checked her reflection. There were no visible bruises, although today her internal scars itched with a vengeance. For now, she felt safe, like a school girl on her way to the principal’s office to rat out a bully. Somebody was going to listen to her today. Her healing was going to start today. There would be no turning back … today. She had held her tongue long enough.

And so, here she was. The New Providence Christian Center had started out as a neighborhood church, the sacred space where she had once found refuge as a child. It was the church where she had received her first kiss, fought her first fight, and grieved her father’s death. But things were quite different these days. The Center now attracted people from near and far to hear the message of the new pastor, Rev. Richard L. Tepido. Every Sunday, he had you turn to your neighbor, shout hallelujah, and rejoice as he preached prosperity and seasons and sanctification. He gave the people what they wanted to hear, and they came in droves. As a result, the church on Laodicea Street was one of the fastest growing in the city, with more members now than the populations of many small towns.

And so, she was here. She had come today searching for serenity, seeking refuge once again, after twenty years of wandering. She had come to claim hope. But when Jennifer finally reached the pastor’s office, her heart sank. Rev. Tepido was out of town. Out of desperation, Jennifer agreed to talk to Rev. Dawson, one of the elderly assistant pastors. Now awkward and thrown off guard, Jennifer stumbled to find the words to convey her version of that which had made her life a living hell. She sat on the edge of her chair as if leaning forward would help her express her angst – she had been emotionally and physically flogged by her spouse and generally battered by her life. She was in dire need of a prescription to make the pain go away.

The Rev. Dawson sat across the desk from her with his hands in a steeple position. He leaned back in his chair and studied her while she talked. The tapping of his foot distracted Jennifer as she tried to weave the threads of her saga into something the reverend could understand. Perhaps she wasn’t making much sense. Maybe she wasn’t speaking loudly enough or clearly enough. Perhaps she had rambled on too long. But, in the middle of one of her statements, Rev. Dawson interrupted her. He spoke up as if he had received a revelation which preempted anything she could possibly have to say.

So she stopped talking. As he began to speak, expectancy cloyed the air.

“I really don’t know you, Sister Chambers,” the reverend announced. “But I can tell you this. When you go home tonight, you need to pray for your marriage. Ask God to show you how to be a good wife. Ask him to give you patience and strength to get you through this rough patch. …Let me ask you this … What have you done to provoke your husband lately?”

Jennifer was stunned. “My very existence provokes him….Are you deaf?” Her thoughts screamed. In silence, she glared at him.

“Well, Sister Chambers, the Bible says wives should submit to their husbands.” He continued. “Under no circumstances should you break your marriage vows. Just keep on praying and look forward to your joy in heaven. …Now let us pray.”

While he prayed, her thoughts raced. Never once did the reverend ask her if she was safe or if she needed medical help. Not once did he ask her if she had a place to go in the event she couldn’t go home. He laid the blame firmly on her shoulders as he dismissed her feelings and trivialized her plight. The burden was almost more than she could bear.

In unison, they said “Amen.”

He shook her hand. “God bless you, Sister Chambers,” the reverend said as he turned his attention to a stack of papers on his desk.

Battling hysteria, Jennifer couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. How was she supposed to follow someone who had no idea where he was headed? How was she to submit to a man who paraded his paramours shamelessly in her face? How was she to love this man who loved no one but himself? She stumbled out of the assistant pastor’s office and into the chapel across the hall. There, she collapsed onto one of the pews. Her sobs erupted from such a deep place inside her that they wracked her chest cavity and tore past her throat.

She sat there a long time; the church staff having the good sense to leave her alone. Gradually, she became aware of her surroundings. The room was dimly lit. Rows of pecan wooden benches filled the sanctuary. Their stiff cushions, upholstered in red and purple, scratched her skin and kept her in touch with her pain. Red carpet lined the aisles leading to the pulpit, which had a stained glass window as its backdrop. The colored glass partially masked a baptismal pool. Jennifer sat back in the pew and closed her eyes. She rocked herself back and forth. The only sound in the room was the whisper of lapping water.

Schwaaay…schwaaay…schwaaay. The waves caressed the sides of the pool, making music in their wake.

“Can you see me, God?” She prayed. Officially tired – worn out in every way a woman could be weary – she ached for relief.

Shhh …. Way… shhh… Way… shhh… Way. The water whispered.

“Can you hear me, Holy Spirit?” Jennifer pleaded. She pitied her plight but was powerless to change it, so she decided to surrender her all.

“Can you help me, Jesus?” She asked with expectancy, determined to release her cares to the Savior.

After a few seconds, a sheet of paper tucked in with the offering envelopes caught Jennifer’s eye. It was a church bulletin. On the front cover was the picture of a serene valley stream; beneath the picture was a caption: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” The sound of the water flooded over her, as Jennifer contemplated the text.

“Shhh. …Wait. … Shhh. …Wait. …Shhh. …Wait.”

Before long, the water’s voice engulfed her psyche and wrapped its peacefulness around her soul. The dull ache in her body subsided while her chest rose and fell to the rhythm of the wash. She closed her eyes at last to let the Holy Spirit minister to her wounded spirit as she sat in the sanctuary of sanctuaries, resolved to wait on the Lord.

In prayer, come empty ...

2009-06-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

"...spiritual maturity is more than happenstance and cannot be accomplished without the aid of the Holy Spirit. According to St. John of the Cross, if we are to grow spiritually we should 'In prayer, come empty, [and] do nothing.' The Holy Spirit -- not humankind -- accomplishes the rest."

- from Spiritual Renewal

The Eagle Who Thought He Was a Chicken

2009-06-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

Once there was a barnyard full of chickens. These birds acted as most chickens do. They strutted their chicken strut, cackled their chicken sounds, and jerked their chicken necks in the way that only chickens can as they pecked for corn, grain, and assorted garbage on the ground. All day long they strutted, cackled, and pecked. From time to time they gathered in bunches and cackled more rudely than usual about something that displeased them. Otherwise, their lives followed this rather mindless routine.

Now there was a strange bird among them. He was bigger than the rest and more awkward. Often he tried to walk like the other chickens and jerk his neck, but he always did it wrong. The others laughed and ridiculed him.

"Look at him. Who does he think he is? He's strange. He's weird. He's different."

These words made the strange bird sad and caused him to cry a great deal.

One day, an owl flew into the barnyard. He immediately noticed the strange bird and flew over to talk to him.

"What are you doing here?" the owl asked.

"I live here. But I don't feel I belong here," the strange bird replied. "I'm so sad."

"It's no wonder you're sad," the owl scolded. "You don't belong here. You, my friend, are an eagle. Why don't you just fly away and leave this place?"

"Fly?" said the eagle. "I don't know how to fly.”

"It's simple," replied the owl. You just flap your wings and take to the sky. "

So the next day and for weeks thereafter, the eagle flapped his wings and tried to become air borne. But it didn't work. He felt he was doomed to strut around the bam yard and eat scraps from the ground for the rest of his life. He was so sad.

A month later, the owl returned. "Why are you still here?" he asked.

"I flapped my wings like you told me, but nothing happened. I’ll never be able to fly.”

"Nonsense," said the owl. "Show me what you've been doing."

So the eagle walked his chicken walk and flapped his chicken his wings wildly.

The owl clucked in exasperation. "I see what the problem is. You are an eagle. You have to look up!” exclaimed the owl. “You're destined for the mountains, not this lowly barn yard. Raise your head toward the heavens and the sun. Stretch your wings and let the wind lift you."

And so the eagle did as he was told. He lifted his head and looked toward the sun. It warmed him yet frightened him, but he kept looking up in spite of his fear. Then he began to flap his wings. Once…. Twice. …Three times, and suddenly up he soared into the heavens, past the treetops, up to a mountaintop, where he perched on a majestic peak and scannd the very world.

An African Folk Tale - Anonymous

Tale of the Sea Captain

2009-06-05T06:22:00.000-07:00

Read Luke 8:22-25
Once there was an old sea captain who decided he wanted to embark on his greatest voyage ever. So he solicited shipmates to join him in this adventure. Boasting of his prior journeys and expertise, the captain managed to gather an entire crew of people willing to go off to sea with him. He huddled them together on the deck of his ship. With a great deal of pomp and flair, the captain began to delegate responsibility among the crew when one of the ambitious sailors asked, “Captain, where exactly are we going?" Confident in his own sense of direction and impeccable navigation ability, the captain replied, "Just do the jobs I assign you and leave the rest to me." And so they set sail.

One night, a raging storm arose, tossing the ship about in the darkness. A tremendous wave hit the vessel hard, sending unanchored items overboard, and throwing the captain into the mast. He was knocked to the deck unconscious. Upon seeing this, the crew flew into a panic. Fear and confusion reigned until, after many hours, the storm subsided. That’s when the crew began to argue about where they should direct the ship, for they had no idea of the direction the captain had desired to take. Because they were unable to agree on a common direction, the crew split up, took lifeboats from the ship, and abandoned the captain.

Unlike the sea captain who made many errors in this anonymous tale, Jesus is still at the helm. He is the ultimate Captain. Not only has Jesus established a common purpose for all believers so that they know exactly where they fit in and where they are headed. He has also clearly communicated through his Word the expectations and mission of the voyage. But most noteworthy of all, the storms are ineffectual when Jesus is in charge, for He is able to calm the seas at the height of their rage and guide the crew safely to their ultimate destination.

New and Improved

2009-06-04T06:25:00.000-07:00

Read Isaiah 65:17-25
Have you ever gotten a little excited when you heard that something was “new and improved”? On more than one occasion, I have rushed out and purchased the latest gadget only to find that it wasn’t so new and improved after all. The revolutionary item had simply undergone a bit of remolding, renaming, and repackaging. As I began to grow older and more perceptive, I started to realize that no thing is really new under the sun, for the ability to create something out of nothing belongs only to God. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth – an ideal kingdom – and God pronounced that it was very good! Now there was creative genius!

Over time, however, humans have tinkered with God’s good creation, and in some cases, we have made a mess of things. For example, today homelessness is at an all-time high. The ranks of the working poor have grown at an alarming rate. And millions of people go to bed hungry each night. Furthermore, there is no justice for the poor and the oppressed; as a result, a permanent underclass has been established, and it is populated with souls who have abandoned hope. Does anyone notice? Does anyone care? God cares!

The Isaiah text opens by announcing “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (v 17). What a relief to know that God intends to provide for us a new and improved kingdom, an original work of artistic genius, a new creation! God intends to use as divine raw materials our regenerated spirits, our compassionate emotions, our empathetic feelings, our sharpened insights, and our purified thoughts as we cry out for intervention and pray as Jesus taught us to pray: “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” God will hear us and answer us for we will have become new creations, transformed beings through which God is working even now to give us new heavens and a new earth.

A Prayer for Healing
Gracious and Loving God,
Sustain those among us who need your healing touch.
Make the sick whole.
Give hope to the dying.
Comfort those who mourn.
Uphold all who suffer in body or mind,
Not only those we know and love
But also those known only to you,
That they may know the peace and joy of your supporting care
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

--Adapted from the Book of Common Worship

What If the Poems Don't Rhyme?

2009-06-02T07:18:00.000-07:00

Read Luke 18:35-43
Back in the 1980’s there was a movement called “multicultural education.” The goal of the movement was to broaden people’s perspectives about culture in order to make them understand that there was more than one right way to view the world. One of the tools used by workshop presenters was the picture of a woman. If you looked at the picture from one point of view, you saw an older lady with a large nose and a wrinkled face. Participants in the workshop were asked to continue looking at the picture to see if they could glimpse anything else in the image. As they persisted in staring at the picture some of them had an “aha!” moment. They reported seeing the visage of a much younger woman who was wearing a stylish hat. Her face was turned to the side in a silhouette. Those who watched as the old woman transformed into a young woman had “received new sight” so to speak. But the funny thing about their new perspective was that once the switch had been made, they were never again able to look at the picture without seeing both women.

I wonder if this is what happened to the blind man after receiving his sight that day on the road to Jericho. The text tells us that after the healing the blind man followed Jesus and became one of Jesus’ disciples. That means that as a disciple, the man who was formerly blind sought to walk where Jesus walked, to do what Jesus did, and to see what Jesus saw? After receiving his sight and being on the road with Jesus for a while, I wonder if the man was able to perceive the world with greater compassion. I wonder if he was able to view reality through the eyes of justice. I wonder if he able to look at his neighbors through lenses of love. I wonder.

Poem for the Day
What If the Poems Don’t Rhyme?
© 2007 by Lorrie C. Reed

Fields of grass with trees and fragrant buds
Cerulean sky with wispy, painted clouds
Round crayon sun suspended high at noon
Father, mother, sister, brother, and a fraction
Life written in couplets with rhyming verse

Play yards swept clear of glass and broken needles
Smog and exhaust, filmy, dim, and colorless
Spears of light spike through gloom on a good day
Family broken, divided, and pawned at your pleasure
So … what if the poems don’t rhyme?

The Power of Prayer

2009-06-01T08:01:00.000-07:00

Read James 5:10-16
Women in the throes of emotionally abusive, intimate relationships are often overwhelmed by confusion. All too often the words and actions of their abusers are in direct contradiction. With one breath, the abuser expresses undying love. With the next, he strips away her dignity and steals her hope. While she has a desire to nurture the person who says he is acting in her best interest, the nagging question still remains: How can someone who loves me treat me with such contempt? What is a woman to do in such a situation? At times like these, prayer can help her to put things into proper perspective.

Today’s scripture reminds us to pray when difficult circumstances confront us in this life. In spite of all the challenges the world throws our way healing, patience, and hope have never been more than a prayer away. When we are faithful in prayer, God sends us what we need to sustain us even in the face of our toughest trials.

Poem for the Day
The Shepherd
© 2008 by Lorrie C. Reed

Dedicated to domestic violence survivors 3/10/2008

The shepherd of my damnation
The man who claims to love me
Stealing my hopefulness
Shining darkness into my twilight
Dragging me through the quagmire
With rod, he prods me toward his will

The ewe, I am, who believes the lie
The one who recoils when he beckons
Cascading into troubled waters
Swirling into despondency and woe
Following without sight or compass
The one who, himself, has lost his way

********

The Shepherd of my salvation
The God who claims to love me, now
Answering my cry in the valley of death
Applying the rod and staff for my comfort
Refreshing me beside still waters
In fields of life, he restores my depleted soul

The Lord of goodness and of grace
The One who truly loves me
Anointing my head with healing oil
Mending my broken heart
Feeding me ‘til I want no more
In the Shepherd’s house I will dwell forever

The Power of Love

2009-05-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Read: 1 Corinthians 13
All we need is love; at least that’s what the songwriters, poets, and movie producers would have us to believe. And you know what? I tend to agree with them to a certain extent. I believe there is healing power associated with doing good deeds. As I have engaged in the process of giving charitably to others, I have experienced positive feelings in return. In fact, some popular writers have noted that the act of giving produces endorphins and reduces stress hormones in a similar way that exercise does. Hence, when we love and care for others we are actually caring for ourselves.

Paul reminds the church in Corinth of the power of love. His advice is also pertinent to this day and age. Christians today can use love as a unifying vision for living in God’s kingdom here on earth. We can express our love through acts of charity, philanthropy, and generosity extended to persons in need of a helping hand. Such love is one of the noblest expressions of the human spirit, and it can promote goodness and generosity even in the midst of the most intolerable situations. The scripture teaches us that even though other things may eventually diminish, love will never fail. And I believe with my whole heart that love is, indeed, a more excellent way of life.

Poem for the Day
You Are My Love
© 2007 by Lorrie C. Reed

I sense you in the snow and rain
And glimpse your grace in lilies
I feel your peace through trying times
You ease my doubts and fears

You are the truth, the life, the way,
The grace, the peace, the hope
You are my very heart’s desire!
My Lord, you are my love!

A New Spirit

2009-05-28T06:53:00.000-07:00

Read Ezekiel 37:1-14
In order to enter the Kingdom of God we must be born of water and Spirit. The Prophet Ezekiel gives us some clues about what this might mean. God has directed Ezekiel to inform the people that they must be initiated into a new nation and a new family of God. Ezekiel tells us that the people will be cleansed and afterward will have a “new heart” and a “new spirit” (36:26). Although the presence of the Spirit is mentioned here briefly, it is described in detail in the next chapter of Ezekiel, where the Prophet has a vision in the valley of dry bones. God tells Ezekiel to:

“Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” (Ezek 37:4-6)

Thus, the dry bones have been given new life with a breath from above, along with a change in behavior and a change in outlook, both of which are initiated by God and not by us.

Poem for the Day
Compassion
© 2008 by Lorrie C. Reed

Changed from inside by your grace
sweet compassion sent my way
Transformed Spirit, redeemed heart
In the brilliance of your light

Abide with Me

2009-05-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

Read Revelations 3:18-21
Life, in many ways, is like a research project. And Jesus is the perfect researcher. Consider this: Jesus controls all the variables; he has stacked the deck against sin and death. He has controlled the research treatments by giving his life on the cross. No elements of chance are involved in the project he conducts, because the outcome has already been written before the foundation of the world! Jesus is also sensitive to our needs as human participants. He has informed us exactly what he intends to do. And he waits for our informed consent while he gives us a choice whether or not to participate.

Poem for the Day
Abide with Me
© 2008 by Lorrie C. Reed

I arranged things as you like them
Dusted places hard to reach
Opened windows; let in breezes
Swept behind and under things

Come, abide within my household –
Unassuming, lowly, spare–
Enter – share your holy presence
Renew hope and give me joy

Living without Anxiety

2009-05-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

Read Philippians 4:6-8
Have you ever had one of those days when you find yourself in a state of anxiety because things are simply not going according to your plan? Scripture tells us not to worry about things we can’t resolve. Instead we should eliminate negativity from our thoughts and vocabulary as much as possible. Everyday, we should try to make a conscious effort to live out the advice Paul gave to the Philippians: “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Pray about it; then leave it in God’s hands, for God is in control!

Food for Thought and Follow-Up Exercises
Jot down any thoughts, reactions, feelings, or insights you had while you reflected on the scripture for today. Record your responses in your journal.
What are the major themes of this devotional scripture?
What insights, challenges, or new directions did this scripture suggest for you?
Describe at least one way this scripture applies to contemporary Christian life.
What does this scripture tell you about humankind? About our relationship with God?
In what ways, if any, is the Holy Spirit present and/or at work in this scripture?

Poem for the Day

Living in the Light
© 2008 by Lorrie C. Reed
While searching for my elusive future,
I looked around and saw you standing in the light,
Abiding there in radiance, embodying
That which I am and that which
I’ve always hoped to be

Mourning Turns to Dancing

2009-05-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

Read Psalm 30:11-12
A friend of mine suffered from trauma for years due to circumstances she had experienced as a child. As an adult, her life made no sense to her for she felt frozen in time and space and looked for resolution in physically destructive ways. When she began to reflect on her situation from a spiritual perspective her attitude changed dramatically. These days when the sun comes up she raises her voice in praise to the Lord: “You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.” By the grace of God her mourning has been turned to dancing.

Food for Thought and Follow-Up Exercises
Jot down any thoughts, reactions, feelings, or insights you had while you reflected on the scripture for today. Record your responses in your journal.
What are the major themes of this devotional scripture?
What insights, challenges, or new directions did this scripture suggest for you?
Describe at least one way this scripture applies to contemporary Christian life.
What does this scripture tell you about humankind? About our relationship with God?
In what ways, if any, is the Holy Spirit present and/or at work in this scripture?

Poem for the Day

Early Thaw
© 2008 by Lorrie C. Reed
Heels and soles march over
Plywood boards placed atop
Blankets of early spring snow
Feet plod toward her final
Resting place at the crest
Of the hill between now and then

Noses poised to sniff
The breath of roses clipped
And placed in florists’ clay
Subtle breeze wafts past instead
Carrying the humus of early thaws
And promises of new life

No Need to Worry

2009-05-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

Read Luke 12:22-31
While my friend Janis was paying the bills one month, she noticed that she did not have enough money to pay the rent. It didn’t make sense to her that they should be in this situation. After all, both she and her husband worked every day, and they had formulated a budget. But, even so, things were inconsistent. Although Janis honored the provisions of the budget, her husband spent money lavishly on whatever he wanted. This left her having to sacrifice sometimes to make ends meet. When she brought this disparity to his attention, he promised to do better, but he never did. At first she didn’t know what to do. Then she began to reflect on her situation theologically. Today’s scripture had reminded her not to worry about what to eat, drink, and wear. God would provide (see also Matthew 6:31-33). That’s when Janis changed her attitude as well as her life. These days, even though the money is still tight, she has grown content with what she has, and all of her needs have been supplied.

Food for Thought and Follow-Up Exercises
Jot down any thoughts, reactions, feelings, or insights you had while you reflected on the scripture for today. Record your responses in your journal.
What are the major themes of this devotional scripture?
What insights, challenges, or new directions did this scripture suggest for you?
Describe at least one way this scripture applies to contemporary Christian life.
What does this scripture tell you about humankind? About our relationship with God?
In what ways, if any, is the Holy Spirit present and/or at work in this scripture?

Poem for the Day

It’s All Right Now
© 2008 by Lorrie C. Reed
Confused and lost, wandering through a maze
Of incongruent shapes and clashing shades
I staggered into you – just standing there
Waiting patiently for me with
Your arms stretched out in welcome
You knew that I would find you“

I was frightened on my journey,” I whispered.
“I know.” You replied. “But it’s all right now.”

Healing the Wounded Heart

2009-05-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Read Psalm 34:15-18
Have you ever been brokenhearted to the point that you thought healing was not possible? In her book entitled I Will Survive, Lori Robinson tells the story of how her broken heart was mended following her brutal rape. One important insight she shares is that her healing was related to her ability to forgive. She reminds us that “Forgiving means that you have taken it off of your agenda for retribution and put it on God’s agenda.” By turning her pain over to God, she eventually was able to think about the hurtful incident without it bringing tears to her eyes or aches to her heart. Make no mistake about it; the thing that broke her heart was not erased from her memory. But her bitterness and resentment subsided by God’s grace. Forgiveness empowered her to release the pain and to move on. And her healing continues to this day.

Food for Thought and Follow-Up Exercises
Jot down any thoughts, reactions, feelings, or insights you had while you reflected on the scripture for today. Record your responses in your journal.
What are the major themes of this devotional scripture?
What insights, challenges, or new directions did this scripture suggest for you?
Describe at least one way this scripture applies to contemporary Christian life.
What does this scripture tell you about humankind? About our relationship with God?
In what ways, if any, is the Holy Spirit present and/or at work in this scripture?

Poem for the Day

Heart’s Desire
© 2009 Lorrie C. Reed

Inspired by Psalm 37:3-4

Though trouble comes to steal my joy
My spirit harbors hope
My soul seeks for your gentle peace
My heart yearns for your grace

When thinking of your faithfulness
This is my heart’s desire
To give to you the very best
Of what you’ve given me

Love for Self and Others

2009-05-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Have you ever known someone who felt alone, abandoned, or betrayed? If you really start to talk to that person you might discover that she suffers from low self-esteem. Consequently, she is unable to extend her love to others and in some cases is not even able to love her self. Today’s devotional scripture discusses the concept of love for self and others. In verse 34, Jesus tells the disciples “As I have loved you, so must you love one another.” Paul reinforces this idea and reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, not even ourselves (Romans 8:38-39).

Food for Thought and Follow-Up Exercises
Jot down any thoughts, reactions, feelings, or insights you had while you reflected on the scripture for today. Record your responses in your journal.
What are the major themes of this devotional scripture?
What insights, challenges, or new directions did this scripture suggest for you?
Describe at least one way this scripture applies to contemporary Christian life.
What does this scripture tell you about humankind? About our relationship with God?
In what ways, if any, is the Holy Spirit present and/or at work in this scripture?

Poem for the Day

Love Yourself
© 2008 by Lorrie C. Reed

Inspired by Matthew 22:37-40

Love God, the Bible tells us
With mind and heart and soul
Love neighbor as you love yourself
Encompass all the Law

But I have guilt and shame and sin
How can I love myself?
God’s love is great enough for all
Cast all your cares on Him

Hope Did Not Disappoint

2009-05-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

Read Romans 5:1-5
Recently a friend of mine was going through an emotionally abusive relationship and needed desperately to communicate with someone. Unfortunately, she was isolated from all her friends and family. She had no one else to talk to. So she talked to God. In response to her petitions, God began to usher her down a pathway toward healing. The more she communicated with God through prayer, the more her stress subsided. Gradually her dark emotions took on a new light. And her inner turmoil turned to peace. Her endurance paid off in the long run. Today's scripture from Romans reminds us that if we endure to the end, hope does not disappoint.

Food for Thought and Follow-Up Exercises
Jot down any thoughts, reactions, feelings, or insights you had while you reflected on the scripture for today. Record your responses in your journal.
What are the major themes of this devotional scripture?
What insights, challenges, or new directions did this scripture suggest for you?
Describe at least one way this scripture applies to contemporary Christian life.
What does this scripture tell you about humankind? About our relationship with God?
In what ways, if any, is the Holy Spirit present and/or at work in this scripture?

Poem for the Day

Hope Did Not Disappoint
© 2008 by Lorrie C. Reed

Inspired by Psalm 27
November 4, 2008

You told me how they pierced your heart
And flayed you with their hate
They swore that you weren’t good enough
And closed doors in your face

You taught me how to trust, dear one,
You rocked and cried and prayed
You said the love of God would keep
The righteous by his grace

A tad bit bruised, a mite perplexed,
A little scarred and scared,
My thoughts turned often to your faith
My spirit persevered

I glimpsed a future bright and free
Where justice did prevail
I saw the goodness of the Lord
On this side of the grave

You’d told me it was faith that counts
Though arrows pierced my heart
My soul soared high in fervent hope
Hope did not disappoint

The Wonderful Light of Wisdom

2009-05-24T17:37:00.001-07:00

Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
The scripture for today reminds us that the people in Corinth placed great value on worldly wisdom. As a consequence, they deemed the significance of the Cross as foolishness. This is not so for believers who are called out of darkness into the wonderful light of wisdom concerning the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord. As a matter of faith, the implications for believers are almost too wonderful to imagine. Because a seed fell to the ground and was buried, it rose again in glory. Praises be to God who chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise! Let us declare the power of that wisdom to the next generations.

Food for Thought and Follow-Up Exercises
Jot down any thoughts, reactions, feelings, or insights you had while you reflected on the scripture for today. Record your responses in your journal.
What are the major themes of this devotional scripture?
What insights, challenges, or new directions did this scripture suggest for you?
Describe at least one way this scripture applies to contemporary Christian life.
What does this scripture tell you about humankind? About our relationship with God?
In what ways, if any, is the Holy Spirit present and/or at work in this scripture?

Poem for the Day

Emmaus
© 2008 by Lorrie C. Reed

Alone on the road was I the day
You stopped by to see about me
You called me by a new name

At first I didn’t recognize you

Then we shared the bread of life
As you gazed on my wretchedness
And saw things only you could see

You breathed your Spirit into me
And I knew in that instant
You would never leave me again

A Child of the King

2009-05-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

Read Romans 8:14-17
When I was just a young girl, one of my teachers said that I would never be accepted by certain segments of our community because I was classified as a “loser’s kid.” You see, my father had been a rebel and an outcast. And in order for my siblings and me to succeed, we had to surpass everyone else around us. I, for one, was determined to get the jump on rejection by being the best and the brightest, the loudest and the most outrageous. I had to show everyone that I could compete with them on their own terms, and that I would win every time. But I was miserable in the process. Then I cast my cares on the Lord, who heard my cry, encouraged me, and rescued me from my affliction. I am no longer terrified of rejection. I can cry “Abba, Father,” because I am no longer a “loser’s kid”; I am the child of the King.

Food for Thought and Follow-Up Exercises
Jot down any thoughts, reactions, feelings, or insights you had while you reflected on the scripture for today. Record your responses in your journal.
What are the major themes of this devotional scripture?
What insights, challenges, or new directions did this scripture suggest for you?
Describe at least one way this scripture applies to contemporary Christian life.
What does this scripture tell you about humankind? About our relationship with God?
In what ways, if any, is the Holy Spirit present and/or at work in this scripture?

Poem for the Day

Abba, Father
© 2007 by Lorrie C. Reed

Inspired by Rom 8:15

They told me I couldn’t call you Father.
You know – to avoid sexist language and all that postmodern logic!
But they don’t know you like I know you.

The father who furnished his seed to the project of my birth checked out early.
And the mother who nurtured me tenderly in her womb
Has slipped away to be with you
When my father and my mother forsook me

You heard my cry.
You bottled up my tears
And turned my mourning into dancing!

You know all about me, Abba, Father.
You knew me before you formed the world.
You know my every word before I speak it.
And you surround me with your love.
You pay attention to me and listen when I cry.

I can tell you anything; you love me anyway.
I know you are watching over me – right now.
I can feel it! Nothing can separate me from your love!
In fact, you love me so much, you sent my brother to come see about me.
They tortured him and took his life. But they couldn’t keep him down.
I am so grateful that he got up and ran home to beg your mercy for me!
He went on ahead to see if you would take me into your household.

Your Spirit cried in unison with mine: Yes, I’ll take her, for she is my child!
Imagine! – A child of the King! An heir to the Throne!
You adopted me into your family to rescue me, to speak life to me.
You saved me and you loved me unconditionally!
You welcomed and caressed me and told me I was your own.
You said that you are my Father, and I am your daughter!
And you told me specifically to call you Abba, Father!
So who are they to command that I do otherwise?

Extraordinary Transformation

2009-05-24T17:24:00.000-07:00

Read 2 Corinthians 4:6-10
Have you ever really considered the diamond? These dazzling gemstones were once mere rocks buried in the bowels of the earth. Under pressure and over time these stones developed into something precious and beautiful. The inner life of the believer is similar to the development of the diamond. Residing deep within the broken, earthen recesses of our human souls is a nascent jewel. When refined and polished by life's pressures, this inner treasure begins to emit rays of brilliance that illuminate the surrounding darkness. Such extraordinary transformation comes from the power of Almighty God and the Spirit that works within us.

Poem of the Day

Just Say Yes

© 2007 by Lorrie C. Reed

Inspired by Rev 3:20

You knocked softly at the
Back door of my brokenness
You whispered my name
And made me consider you,
With your arms outstretched
And the cure for what ailed me
Resting, like an invitation,
In the palms of your wounded hands!

Follow me, you said quietly.
And I just said, yes!

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