2012 The year of the Spiritual Disciplines

Okay, so I'm not exploring them all. But there will be a few.

Firstly, I've decided to take a semester off work so that I can study a full-time study load.

Guess what? Study is a Spiritual Discipline!

Because I'm taking time off work, the budget will be quite snug.

Guess what? Simplicity is a Spiritual Discipline!

I've been feeling a real call to prayer and meditation for this year, so I've made certain that my timetable includes sufficient time to make these areas of my spiritual life a priority.

Guess what? Prayer is a Spiritual Discipline!

It's making for a very interesting life. Grocery shopping now has something to do with God, because I have to shop within a tighter food allowance than previously.

Riding my bike places has something to do with God because I'm saving fuel money.

Avoiding junk food has something to do with God because there's only a small discretionary spending allowance for me and is it really worth it?

And ripping up Koorong catalogues without taking time to drool over them is about God, because my book budget for this year is restricted to textbooks (unless I choose to spend some of the disc. spend. allow.).

And now I just need to find a way to make travel overseas a Spiritual Discipline. Number of ways that have occurred to me?

Desperate Measures

There are times in a preacher's life where there don't seem to be any hymns that go where you want to go.

And some of us preach in smaller churches where there is a limit on the repertoire of the congregation and/or musicians available.

And although it is possible to select some rousing hymns that everyone knows that have nothing whatsoever to do with the selected theme, it is really very nice to have at least one that deals with where you're going.

So, in desperation, I started penning my own lyrics with some assistance from the lovely and talented Givinya who ironed out a dodgy line for me and told me that it was okay to have an anacrusis if I needed it.

So we'll be singing this on Sunday (to the tune Cross of Jesus):

Follow me! Our Christ to Philip

in that distant Galilee.

Instantly he went with Jesus.

What an honour: Called was he.

Follow me! Our Saviour calls us

As he calls, so we obey.

Walking into love and learning,

faith in trusting his new day.

Come and See! So Philip phrased it

When Nathanael scoffed his doubts

Zeal for law, tradition, status -

Jesus’ wisdom found him out.

Come and See! So someone asked us

Child or parent, spouse or friend

Came to Jesus: True love, mercy,

Companionship that never ends.

Come and See! An invitation

From our lives to those we know.

Making certain we don’t veil the

King of Heav’n seen here below.

Of course, while Givinya is very good and very helpful in the improvement of verses, her strength is rhyming and rhythmic comedy. So she dash off a couple of alternative versions of the third verse, because I was having great trouble getting it to work.

An alternative version

Come and See! So Philip phrased it

when Nathanael scoffed his doubts

zeal for law, tradition, status

proved Nathanael was a lout.

The Yorkshire version

Come and See! So Philip phrased it

when Nathanael scoffed his doubts

zeal for law, tradition, status

Nathanael's questions came to nowt.

The Irish version (and my personal favourite)

Come and See! So Philip phrased it

when Nathanael scoffed his doubts

So Nat and Phil, they filled their tankards,

Made a toast, and downed their stout.

The IT version

Come and See! So Philip phrased it

when Nathanael scoffed his doubts

Nat picked up his bag and laptop;

Went to check the Saviour out.

And how many of these alternatives are likely to be sung in church this coming Sunday (except in my head)?

...precisely

A Story Based on Luke 14:7-11

And the chance that I'll spend as much time on the actual "grown up" sermon?

... Approximately None!

Perils of Speedy RE Preparation

Trying to get everything done for my Religious Education class for this morning. I take a grade 2 class and they are lovely. Noisy and never still, but lovely.

Just quickly trying to copy and then highlight some verses I need them to read out. Quickly grabbed one - Jeremiah 31:3 "... Israel, I will always love you; that's why I have been so patient and kind."

Lovely thought for the day. God is patient and kind and loving. Great.

Onto the next one I read quickly Jeremiah 3:2 "Just try to find one hilltop where you haven't gone to worship other gods by having sex."

What!?! That can't be right! Definitely not age-appropriate. Check the reference.

Jeremiah 3:12 "... Israel, I am your Lord - come back to me! You were unfaithful and made me furious, but I am merciful, and so I will forgive you."

That's more like it.

How funny would it have been if I hadn't actually read the selections, then given them out to my unsuspecting 8 year olds?

... Approximately NONE!!!

Better than The West Wing

I've said before that when I'm trying to get fit I've been putting on an episode of The West Wing and then doing my stretches and rowing.

A 41 minute episode allows for stretching, 30 mins of rowing (even with occasional breathers) and then either a sit for a couple of minutes or warm-down stretches. It helps me to keep going when I'm really not enthused by the prospect of exercise.

I'm not a huge fan of exercise, but without it I become simply huge, so I perservere. And The West Wing helps with the mind-numbing process, because it gives my brain something to think about, other than the fact I'm tired, puffed and want to stop now.

Yesterday I decided to use the time to pray instead. And it worked! There's something about rhythmic breathing that helps me keep focussed on prayer, and the prayer keeps me calm about doing the exercise. I can work out why I've not thought about this before, except that I'm not usually that awake of a morning, so I can't think. Yesterday was my day off, so I was rowing later than usual, which means that my brain had a chance to get into gear.

I'll have to see if it works on a normal day (particularly in winter when the sun doesn't get up till 6.50am).

The chance that I can think of a witty way to segue into my tagline from here?

... Approximately None.

Indecision...

I am not good at making decisions.

I was awake for a couple of hours last night second-guessing my misguided desire to do more study.

I have always wanted to do more God-related study. I don't know if I really should say "more" because I've really done very little, but I've always thought when I hear of someone studying Theology, "you are so lucky!".

I've finally managed to separate studying theology and becoming a minister in my mind, which means that I can study without feeling guilty if I don't actually do anything with it. I know that I work as a Pastor (which may mean Minister to some of you anyway), but my role has very set boundaries and I'm qualified for the parts of the pastoral work that are in my job description. But I'm feeling that I need more knowledge and some different perspectives to be better at this role, even if I never want to do all the stuff that a regular minister does.

So, a Bachelor of Theology sounds like a wonderful idea and I love the sound of some of the units on offer. BUT 24 subjects is a big committment. I don't see how I could fit more than one subject at a time into my life without neglecting my Beloved, my work, or the state of cleanliness in my abode. This means that for the next 12 years I lose my nights and weekends. Hang on, I already lose nights and weekends in my work. How is that going to work?!

I could knock it off in 6 years if I could manage 2 subjects at a time. But that's a huge comittment of time over a significant period. I don't know how people manage it.

But I'd love to have the opportunity to study.

And the Federal Government will help fund the subjects if I do them as part of a course, rather than picking off one-off subjects. That's very nice of them.

But it is a very long time comittment. I will miss much television. Oh, that's right, there's very little worth watching on it anyway, so maybe not really a sacrifice.

But I want to learn more.

But I like having time to spend hanging out with my Beloved.

But there's some really good units that sound interesting.

But there are weeks when I entirely lose my drive, or I get a cold and don't feel like doing anything much.

And I need to make a decision this weekend if I want to do a subject this coming semester.

The chance that I'm certain about what I should do?

... Approximately None!

And Now for Something Completely Different...

I've been a girl who has always gone to church. Initially I didn't have much choice in the matter, but eventually took on Christian faith for myself. One of the things that 35 years of church-going will do is that I know how all the stories end, and can get a bit blase about them. I also am used to some of the really odd things that Christians do at church. They are almost second nature.

I think the two of these tendencies combined resulted in the following mind wandering that happened just after Easter, but that I haven't got around to blogging about. Sorry for the in-jokes for those who don't attend a more main-stream church, or any church at all, for that matter.

Scene:
A fairly normal (if somewhat stodgy) service in my lovely home church. The reader was reading from Luke, Chapter 24, verse 36, following Jesus' resurrection, appearance and the disciples' return from Emmaus.

Reader: "Whle they were talking about this [Jesus' appearance on the road to a town called Emmaus], Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you'..."

Jen's somewhat wandering brain going into standard liturgy mode: "And the disciples responded, 'And also with you'..."

Reader continuing, thankfully in blissful ignorance of my mental journey to realms not recorded in the Bible: "...They [the disciples] were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost..."

Jen's brain, brought back suddenly to the actual reading, rather than standard liturgical responses: "Wow, I have been to church way too much, I wasn't expecting that. Didn't those disciples know the correct response?!"

The chance that the disciples, scared and not following the whole point of what Jesus had been trying to tell them about the fact that he would rise from death, even thought about using the standard liturgical response?

... Approximately None!

Listening with God's Ears

I went to the evening church service last night. It's very informal, set around the meal table in the church hall, and has an average attendance of about 12.

A man I shall call 'Len' comes to the service. He has an intellectual disability and enjoys the food and the company, and is very enthusiastic in helping set up and clean up.

Len loves hymn singing and often closes the book and sings whatever words he feels like to whatever tune he feels like. Very loudly and enthusiastically.

...which can make it difficult to stay on tune when we have such a small group, but we love his enthusiasm.

Last night we had a hymn that has a beautiful descant to it. I had done it in choir where we lived previously, so I decided to stand up despite the fact that we don't bother standing up to sing in the evening service (there was no way I had a hope of getting a high G without being on my feet - it's touch and go at the best of times for an alto).

So Len, always enthusiastic, got to his feet too. Good on him!

When we finished, the Minister thanked me for providing the harmony. Len was right there with the fact that he'd stood up to sing too.

And do you know what difference I think God would have heard in our contributions to the hymn?

... Approximately None.

Listening to a Gurgling Creek

So after a pretty full-on couple of weeks (that, by the way, shows no sign of letting up anytime soon) I had the opportunity to go and spend some time with people from all over the Darling Downs who happen to go to the same brand of church as me. Much of it was business meeting with heaps of chatting time between, around (and even the occasional cheeky interjection during) the meetings.

But Sunday was especially wonderful.

They had arranged for a retreat day, and whilst the music during the introduction/focus part wasn't really my preferred style it was designed for us to focus and it did help me to do that. It also tied into some of the talks from the days before about setting time aside to listen and "waste time with God". Maybe they planned that.

But my absolute favourite time was when we were given a worksheet and told to go off by ourselves for a bit. I loved the gentle way they introduced it, and told us all that if we wanted to get extra comfortable on a mattress with our eyes closed that was okay too.

So I headed off down the hill to the creek. The site is adjacent to a national park and is entirely beautiful. Tall eucalypts standing like classical pillars, supporting their canopy so far above. We had gentle breezes weaving around the mountains to caress our faces. I couldn't help being reminded of all the similarly beautiful places in Victoria that no longer exist and popped up a few prayers for them on my way.

When I reached the creek I sat down on the causeway that is the main entry to the property and enjoyed the happy, noisy splashing sounds that a determined current can make against the rocks. I had time to just sit. Sit and let my mind wander. Let my mind wander and breathe in deeply the refreshing air. Watching the play of filtered light over the water, quick-silvery over the rocks and next to invisible in the pools. I watched the bubbles lightly borne on the surface.

After a while I lay down on the moss-covered concrete and shielded my eyes from the sun and continued to enjoy the sounds of the creek and the calls of different birds, particularly the clear, percussive sweetness of the bell-birds.

Later I sat up and must have been so still that a little speckledy-stripey water dragon came and started eating ants within a couple of metres of where I was sitting. Quick, decisive movements then still and stick-like.

I did work through the worksheet, but used it as more food for mind wandering than anything else.

So this week is just as busy as last, but I feel like it is do-able. And it's mainly due to taking the time to listen to a gurgling creek. How much would I ever want to give up these few hours?

... Approximately None.

Be Still and Know that I am Dog

Yep, I'm expecting that lightning bolt any minute.

One day I am going to write a book on Canine Theology. It will be all the lessons about God that I've learnt from my Little Black Dog. As distinct from the things the LBD does where I'm fairly certain that there is no lesson about God. Like eating manure.

So often my time with the LBD is doing stuff. We go for a walk. I feed him. I bath him. He sits in the back corner of my office and sleeps as I work. We used to play in the backyard, but tug of war and balls are out due to possibility of leg injury these days.

Today I went down to give him his breakfast and he wasn't interested, he followed me back to the steps. So I sat down on the second step and gave him a cuddle and patted him and we just hung out together for 10 minutes or so. He looked at me and I ran my fingers through his full, thick coat. I enjoyed it. He enjoyed it. Neither of us was doing anything 'constructive'.

So often my Christian walk is like that. I do things with and for God. I get busy. I should spend more time just hanging out with Him. He would enjoy it. I would enjoy it. Despite the fact that neither of us would be doing anything 'constructive'.

The odd thing was that during my 'official' time out for prayer this morning my stillness seemed to be swamped by my mind remembering all the things I have to do today (and for that matter this week and month). I wonder if the LBD is aware of being used as an angel (the original Greek means messenger) from God?

What are the chances that 'constructive' things will recede in importance to make way for simply hanging out unless I actually try to make it happen?

... Approximately None.

Synchronicity

I do a little lay preaching in our church. We are having a week of prayer to herald in the start of the Advent (Christmas) Season next week, and I was part of the team doing the special services for both ends of the week.

Part of what we were talking about is watching out for where God might be breaking into our lives - sometimes it's actions by other people towards us; sometimes it's being called to do things for others; sometimes it's a miraculous confluence of events; or just a plain miracle that can't be explained.

I've been praying about the younger people (or lack thereof) in my church. Not because I need young people necessarily (although it would be nice), but that any community that is almost missing a generation is not healthy (it would be lovely if we were doing more baptisms than funerals, for example - I often joke about turning off the light when I'm done).

Today I met a young Mum who's new to town who wants to be involved in things. And the addition of just one family to our church might be the catalyst necessary for big things to happen. I'm excited.

I'm also excited that our breakfast meeting for our Local Hospital Pastoral Care Team was really positive. We're only a small team, and it takes a while to get known throughout the government machine that is called a hospital. Again, the catalyst caused by the right person with the right knowledge, skills and contacts at the right time can do marvellous things.

So my Advent theme is "Watch this space..."

And the chance that I want to leave all this interesting church stuff to do my boring work stuff?

... Approximately None!

Freaky Friday

In my spare time I've been reading Philip Yancy's book "The Jesus I Never Knew". I have the great privilege of reading over my breakfast because we have no kids, and my Beloved goes to work early and lets me sleep in that extra hour after the alarm (I don't think he wants to talk to me until I've woken up properly on the off chance that I turn cranky and violent).

The thing I like about this book is that Philip Yancy tries to find examples to illustrate to us how the words of Jesus must have sounded to his first listeners, rather than interpreted through 2000 years of the Christian Church.

I ran into this quote about how the Jewish Sanhedrin would have viewed Jesus' claim that he could destroy the temple and rebuild it within three days, "Imagine the reaction today if an Arab ran through the streets of New York City shouting, 'The World Trade Centre will blow up, and I can rebuild it in three days'."

I thought that it was a pretty good illustration, but it doesn't have the unexpectedness that Jesus' words would have had. Just like the destruction of the Jewish Temple, we all know what happened to the World Trade Centre. Of course, before the 11th September 2001, it wouldn't have meant as much outside an American (or Financial guru-type-person) audience, as many of us in the rest of the world didn't know anything about the building before it was gone.

As a matter of interest I turned to the publishing details at the front of the book... 1995.

The chance that I'm not a little freaked out?

...Approximately None