Is there quiet in your work/ life/ living space? Or does it feel overcrowded?
Last year, our family took on a bathroom remodeling project bringing a 1950s ish bathroom into the modern age (I know you can picture the ugly yellow tile). It was to take 2 weeks tops-- such an easy transformation (so says our contractor). But as the weeks rolled by the project slowed down fast. In the midst of it all, we discovered something really wrong with the pipes below the house and so on (this always happens when you start a project right?). It led to so many other things we needed to do to this house. Our quiet in daytime house became a circus and stayed that way for a while. I kept saying to my husband "I can't hear myself think anymore!" Can you relate?
To our lives full of so much action (no matter if you are remodeling or not), I want to offer this week's word: listen.
Listen: to be alert; to catch an unexpected sound.
I love this definition of listening because it reminds me that listening is active. And listening is not always about being in a perfect quiet space. For listening connects us to the unexpected sounds all around us-- what has always been there maybe but we finally notice!
You can listen in a noisy house, a busy day or even during a sleepless night when your mind is bubbling over with mental chatter. Even in moments that feel crowded, you can be alert to unexpected sounds . . .
So, I am wondering: what kind of listening have you been doing lately?
Recently I tuned into a podcast conversation between authors Brene Brown and Glennon Doyle in which they dug deep into all the commotion around them. They explored the lists we all carry in our heads about what being a "good person" or "having a good life" means-- and how these lists hold us back from hearing what our lives are trying to show us.
And then they both spoke of how beautiful their lives have become as they made room to listen. Practically, this listening looked like being able to say to their families: "Hey, I need some alone time because I'm really depleted" or telling a friend: "I just can't go out tonight."
Listening, in their case brought boundaries that gave them new life!
So for you, I'm wondering what is your soul trying to communicate that you don't yet have ears to hear? How can you open your heart to some new unexpected sounds around you?
What I know is: there's so much that God is longing to show you, clarify for you, and encourage you with but you have to first listen. May today and the days ahead surprise you with it's beautiful new sounds. Cheering you on-
XO
Elizabeth
Have you taken a break lately from your normal routine?
Sabbath, as I define it is time set apart for rest. Do you remember the last time you had a time like this?
Several years ago, God nudged me toward a Sabbath season. I said no to things I would have normally done. I made a point to carve out time in my week for fun. Sabbath meant anything that brought me joy, helped me to slow down.
So what did I do (or not not do)?
I went to therapy each week (mental health is important y'all). I took a class just to learn something new. I enjoyed long dinners with friends. And napped if I felt like it.
These days, I look back on that 4 months of my life with such a smile. I was GOOD to myself. I felt the affirmation of my Creator: "You are good!" that the busyness of life had taken away.
But as we know from the traditions of the great world religions, Sabbath doesn't have to be a big chunk of time like this. It can be an hour, a day or a week as long as the time is set apart (aka Sabbaths are best when you stay away from your phone or computer).
Also I need to point out: you can still take a Sabbath if you are retired. (Retired people are often some of the busiest people i know!)
I love this quote from Wayne Muller, author of Sabbath: Finding Rest and Delight in Our Busy Lives: “Sabbath requires surrender. If we only stop when we are finished with all our work, we will never stop, because our work is never completely done.”
We can't do everything. It's ok to stop. It's ok to disappoint people being unavailable.
But how does that play out in real life?
Maybe it means saying YES to something you normally think is a waste of time. Maybe you need to pick one household chore that you don't do on your "Sabbath day." Maybe it means clearing your schedule for an afternoon and just seeing what you get into (or not).
Whatever it is, I hope you find some time to rest this week. And know as you rest that God is with you.
XO
Elizabeth
P.S. A great book on this topic is Julia Cameron's The Artist Way. It's a book that invites more rest, play and creativity. Listen to Julia describe what that might look like here.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the silence spaces that fill so many of our day-to-day conversations and relationships.
A friend’s flippant comment offends us. A family member makes choices that we think are terrible. A best friend forgets our birthday.
We find ourselves with relationships full of space-- this week's word.
I'm defining space not as what's out there in the universe, but the distance from people that a person needs to feel comfortable.
But does it have to be this way? Is there anything we could do to lessen the space?
Recently I read Professor Kate Bowler’s book, Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved-– a memoir about grief, cancer and dying. It’s full of beautiful prose. Prose I highly recommend to you.
One of the things that impressed me right away about Kate’s experience of a terminal illness at age 35 (a stage 4 cancer sentence nonetheless) was her crushing defiance of any space in between.
As soon as she heard that she had months to live (which has now turned into years thanks to a clinical trial), "The games of relationships had to stop," Katie said.
Coming out of her first post-cancer diagnosis surgery, Kate describes sitting next a friend who came to be with her and giving her this pep talk:
“Oh my dear one, it’s time. It’s time to go. You can leave your job . . If you stay a bitterness is going eat up everything I love about you.”
I can imagine that Kate’s directness toward her friend would not have happened if it weren’t for her reality. And, I can imagine sensitivity to her friend’s feelings might have held her back. Fear would have gotten the last word. There would have been SPACE.
But the space in between the two friends vanished because Kate had the courage to tell the truth. Kate said what her friend most needed to hear.
So today, I’m wondering this: what does it take for you to live brave like this?
How can you speak up, get to the point faster and not allow bigger canyons of space to keep you from those you love with kindness (of course)?
In the quiet moments of this week, I know that if you sit with the questions around the relationships you value the most, you'll know what to do next. You will.
God always hopes, I believe, that we will be people who live abundantly after all. Abundantly without so much space keeping us a part.
XO
Elizabeth
P.S. If want to dig deeper into this topic, one of my favorite teachers, Dr. Brene Brown. Check out this podcast she did with the folks at On Being about what it takes to have this kind of space-busting courage.
A Sermon for Easter from Luke 24:1-12
Preached at Springfield Christian Church, Springfield, VA
When we think of Easter the words, “an average ordinary day” do not come to mind, do they?
Nope, we think of new clothes. We think of bunnies. We think of chocolates in the shape of a crosses (which of course gives us less guilt in eating them). We think of big, bright and bold worship services with more people in the pews than normal And we think of that great revelation at that empty tomb!
But the truth be told, the first Easter morning began as “an average ordinary day.” It was a day for those closest to Jesus filled with grief, yes, but also going through the motions of what was required of them according to Jewish customs.
Several of the female disciples gather at Jesus’ tomb. They bring with them spices they’d personally gathered. They want to anoint Jesus’ body and further complete the burial process—a sign of devotion and respect. This was their last chance to do anything for Jesus in bodily form.
It’s the ancient version of the “pick out a nice suit,” “buy a pretty casket” and “make sure you have the nicest plot in the cemetery.” We, like the women that day, do these tasks when someone dies not because we enjoy them but because it’s some of the last strings of connection to our loved one. It’s an ordinary part of what it means to lay someone to rest.
And for the women who loved Jesus the most, I can imagine with tears rolling down their cheeks, they wanted this morning to be a special one—the last encounter, their last memories with their favorite teacher.
Then, the greatest surprise happens.
Panic, fear, and anger must have been running through the veins of Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the Mother of James and the others.
Who could have taken Jesus’ body?
Where was he now?
And why would someone be so cruel?
We might wonder: shouldn’t they know exactly what was going on? But there was no time for more thinking because before seconds passed, scripture tells us that “suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them.”
Instinctively, Mary, Mary and Joanna bow to the ground and cover their faces, believing this was the most proper response. But still unsure what was going on.
The angel messengers had something to offer:
It took the angel’s further explanation—reminding them of all Jesus had taught and all he’d said, point by point for them to begin to understand.
Or, “Women, wake up! The best news you could ever imagine is HERE!”
Then, thoughts in Mary, Mary and Joanna’s minds start rolling. For in fact, they DO remember Jesus’ words. He’d had so much to say about death not defeating him. And so what were they waiting for? This is news worth sharing. Luke tells us that they leave the tomb and go and tell the 12 male disciples.
However, I want to stop here and point out one important word that we don’t hear within this encounter: believe.
We hear nothing of the women believing what they angel told them, only that they’re REPORTING to the others what they heard. (There is a HUGE difference between those two).
(You can tell someone you love them. But if you don’t say it with conviction from belief, what good are your words?)
Yet, kudos to the women of course for keeping the story going—for telling the others was an important next step.
BUT (and but seems to be the favorite words of Luke’s telling of this story, he uses it 6 times in only 12 verses!), when the men heard, scripture tells us that “these words seemed to them an idle tale.”
One commentary says that the translation “idle tale” is a generous one for it comes from the Greek word, leros which could be better translated as “delirious.”
This news of resurrection, according to them was delirious, stupid or just plain crazy.
Only a fool would believe that Jesus is alive!
Of course, there’s Peter, who needs some time to get all of this straight. Luke gives us another BUT saying that Peter runs back to the tomb to see the stone rolled away for himself. He’s amazed yet there’s no mention of belief either.
So this is what I have to offer you about the scripture from Luke 24:
Sit with that for a moment.
It was the best news that no one believed.
Really. And oh how we all have our two cents to offer about that. We might want to say: “Shame on them!”
But does it really surprise us that no one magically “got” the good news and joyfully proclaimed it?
Doesn’t resurrection ask us to change—when we experience it—in more profound ways than we ever thought possible?
Consider this, throughout history, until several centuries ago, there was a fact that just about everybody on this planet could agree on. Can you guess what it is?
No one could leave planet Earth and survive. The earth is for us. The heavens are for the stars. Stay put!
However, as the space age of the 1960s began to buzz with excitement and furor—all of this thinking slowly began to shift. As the Soviet Union successfully propelled the first man up into space, he lived and came back, then, well maybe everything we’ve clung to for the possibilities for our lives was wrong? Maybe the heavens were not just for the planets, the moons and the stars, but safe for us too?
An ordinary day turned extraordinary on July 20, 1969—day that millions of Americans and countless others around the world too were glued to their television screens to watch. Neil Armstrong step foot for the first time onto the lunar surface saying (and you all know it) “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The moon in the night sky hasn’t looked the same since!
But, this is what made me curious this week: did seeing this event come true shift the paradigm of “we belong right here” vs “we belong out there” in space? Did flocks of people start to beat down NASA’s doors after that wanting to go to space?
According to a recent Gallop poll, a large group of Americans were asked: “Are you interested in going to the moon if you could?”
Only 27% said yes, which is roughly one fourth of all Americans. I’ll say it again, only 27% of the population they had any interest in space—even seeing it being done again and again and even with 40+ years of even better technology in place to make the journey safer.
Nope! Nobody wanted to go!
The stat could be summed up by this statement: we’re comfortable right here where we are!
And furthermore, isn’t it true that there are countless documentaries played on the science channels in the year 2016 which tell us the man on the moon is all a hoax? It was simply a made up story for political purposes? There are so people who STILL don’t believe it happened in the first place.
And such IS where we land with our resurrection story with those first disciples. The resurrection asked for a complete life re-orientation. And that’s tough stuff. And many still don’t believe.
Yet, consider again what the angels say to the women.
Or in other words WHY are you staying here? Jesus is not here. The past is through. It’s finished.
Jesus is over HERE. Jesus has opened up a world beyond what we can see! Jesus made a way for us to participate fully in the kingdom of God. Jesus has opened up for us the blessed life forevermore.
If you want to keep following Jesus, the angels are saying, YOU CAN’T STAY PUT and You can’t be over here!
You can’t live in the past.
You can’t be defined by what was.
You have to lift up your eyes, oh disciples, toward what is to come. You’ve got to be on the move!
I want you to know I understand embodying resurrection IS hard work. Many of us don’t want to be on a journey like that. It’s so difficult! We like it just fine over here, where we’ve always been.
A preacher friend of mine, Anna Carter Florence said once about this, text,
For if something is going to be dead (and of course we don’t like that) at least we get the consultation prize is knowing what we know, right? There’s a comfort in the finality of death, isn’t there? It’s something we can lean on. KNOWLEDGE
But this is the message of Easter, my friends, we can no longer lean on what we know.
But you might say, preacher, “If I don’t get what I know, then what do I have?”
I’ll tell you, what you have, you have Jesus.
The resurrection gives us Jesus.
Jesus is the one we can count on. Jesus is the one that will lead us to our future. Jesus is what we have in this world.
It’s the best news we could ever experience called resurrection!
But hear me say, the ask of resurrection is NOT to check our brains at the door. But it is to allow God and what God offered us through Jesus to be the center of our story.
And though there are many who might call our faith a scam. Or a hoax. Or just a delirious tale.
And though we not not believe. Or want to believe. This does not change the fact that resurrection morning was the best news the world ever got.
That what we see is not all there is.That we don’t have to be defined by the failures of our past.
For when we least expect it, for when we’re clueless and not even paying attention on an ordinary day—new life can find us. It did to those women at the tomb! This is such good news. Such good news for today and every Sunday of the year.
Today, church, let the resurrection not be the best news news none of us believed!
AMEN
