Hey. Let’s all take a deep breathe together, shall we? Don’t speak. Don’t complain. Can we all, just for a second, sit together in silence? Can we take a moment to just be together? Yes, because when we do that – we take a moment in the quiet and see each other for what we really are – brothers and sisters. When we look each other in the eyes, and see each other’s hearts, we can’t hide anymore. We can’t call each other names or judge each other – we just see each other. For the love of Pete, stop posting mean things on Facebook. OVER IT.
It’s been a hard little while, hasn’t it? Let’s just be real about it – life is hard. There won’t be a time in the history of a broken world where we aren’t just that: broken. So let’s realize that hard will always be here, but what do we know about that? There is always good and hard. They are never separate.
“In church on Sunday we participate in a liturgy – a ritualized way of worship – that we repeat each week and by which we are transformed. Even those traditions that claim to be freeform or nonliturgical include practices and patterns in worship. Therefore, the question is not whether we have a liturgy. The question is, ‘What kind of people is our liturgy forming us to be?’” (Liturgy of the Ordinary, 30-31)
I’m reading this new book (if you need a recommendation here it is), Liturgy of the Ordinary. It takes the daily activities of our lives (waking up, brushing our teeth, eating leftovers, checking email, etc.) and transforms them into spiritual practices with deep meaning. Overall, it is a reminder that every small part of our lives is important. Everything has meaning.
I’ve been particularly struck by the quote above, specifically the final lines: “The question is not whether we have a liturgy. The question is, ‘What kind of people is our liturgy forming us to be?’”
We can find hope right here and now; we can make it a practice in our everyday lives. And we can hope for a better future, both in our lives here on earth and when Jesus comes back.
I’ve been sick this week (darn November colds), and so not a lot of energy to write. So here is something I wrote a little while ago, a prayer for my mornings. A prayer to cover my day, to help me begin well. Pray it over your Friday? I pray for today to be […]
The eleven-year-old sixth grader got into the car, slammed the door shut, and sat in silence. I tried to make conversation but she clearly was not having any of it. In silence, we drove to pick up her two younger siblings from their school. When we all arrived back at their house, she ran up […]
I’m teaching a class for freshman and one of their assignments is to share their testimony with the class. They were nervous, not excited to get up in front of their classmates and share something so vulnerable. I sat in the back of the classroom and watched as they sat in the chair at the […]
When life is messy and hard, when it seems like our world is headed full speed towards destruction, when fear is ever present, I think of the One who I follow.
Hey Friend, When I don’t know what else to write, it’s prayer. Really, whatever I am writing is a prayer. If it isn’t something I wouldn’t say to God, I shouldn’t be saying it. That doesn’t mean I don’t say certain four letter words, it just means I should avoid lies and trivial gossip and […]
this life's blessings 