Home Sanctuary

This is Church

If church is defined as a "house of worship," then I can't think of a better house to worship God in than these mountains. I am awed by the grandeur of His handiwork, and made small by His greatness. I believe we meet God best when our hearts are stilled, and we are humbled by His majesty and power.

I had church at the Maroon Bells of Colorado today.

Nature preached a sermon that echoed off rugged cliffs and into the valley below. "Grace upon grace," murmured the bubbling streams that fed the still lake. "God with us," whispered the shhhh-ing of the aspen leaves as the winds picked up their voices and scattered them upon the earth.

God with us. Grace.

Despite the turmoil of this world, and the problems that seem unsolvable, God's presence is still with us. His grace is still at work to draw us near, to let us hear and know and see the Almighty One. I believe that, but sometimes I forget it.

I've had church in many places: I've worshipped while washing dishes. I've met God at my mailbox. My car is one of my favorite places to pray. Of course, gathering with other believers - anywhere - is church. I've had church in arenas with 10,000 people singing together. I've had church in the barn, where it smells like manure and hay and dust. I've experienced church in my living room, with an open Bible and a cup of coffee. Sometimes church comes when you can snatch a minute away from the busyness of regular life.

But the church I love best is in nature. It is here that I am face to face with the mystery - and mastery - of God Himself. Today, I sat in silence and watched the sunlight chase clouds over the mountain peaks and ignite the aspens with vivid color. There simply are no words that can capture the experience of it. I breathed in and closed my eyes and stilled my heart.

As I turned to leave, my eyes fell on a small piece of driftwood at the shore of the lake.

 

To my eyes, it looked exactly like a wing in flight. I tucked it in my pocket as a reminder of this moment in God's magnificent sanctuary. Maybe angels above are singing, I don't know. Maybe it's just my heart that fluttered at this perfect little find. Maybe there is a message in it for me somewhere. I'm not one to go looking for signs.

But this I know: Grace upon grace, God is with us still.

This, my friends, is church.

 

Where have you experienced church? I'd love to hear your worship experience.

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Good for the Soul: A Little Vacation

I'm in Colorado for a few days this week, enjoying the beauty of the autumn aspens and sipping coffee in quaint shops. Well, actually I haven't done either thing yet, but I'M HERE in the mountains and we are getting ready to head out for a fun few days. This was me (photo above) heading to the airport.

Tom came up a several days early to take photographs and scout out the scenery, and Gray actually joined him over the weekend. They caught this beauty at Maroon Bells, near Aspen:

It looks grainy because I took a phone photo of the camera screen so I could show you. What a treat!

It's hard to get away sometimes. It is for us, anyway. When you are self-employed you don't get a two week paid vacation, and nobody can fill in for you while you're gone. It takes so much work to plan ahead, get ahead on work, arrange everything....we almost decided that it wasn't worth it. But it was on the calendar, and it's been two years since our last time away, so we forced ourselves to do it.

And now that we are here, we wonder: why is it so difficult to pull away, anyway? The instant I got on the plane to join Tom, I knew this would be good for our souls. I could feel myself breathe freely and let go of the stress of trying to get all organized. So I left a few things undone, oh, well. It will be there when we get back, and it will be all right.

We're here.

 

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Shhhhhhhh......

 

I’m not sure why I thought of this the other day, but a small memory surfaced that gave me a little sense of longing. A feeling of sentimentality and wishing. The recollection wasn't much, really; just a fleeting remembrance of a sound I used to hear. 

I thought of the record player we once had - the one that was in a Hi Fi cabinet. It was a little old fashioned for the late 1970's, but it had a good sound (we thought), and the decorative chest that housed it fit nicely in our living room. Perfect with the avacado green divan.

I loved listening to a stack of records as I went to sleep at night. My room was near the living room, so I could hear the music while I lay in bed. My parents had a fine collection of classical, as well as gospel music. Quartets, George Beverly Shea, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. No pop singers, nope, not for us. Just music that was enriching - “edifying” - as my dad would say. The Grand Canyon Suite was my favorite symphony piece, especially the “On the Trail” movement. I blame that piece for igniting my love of donkeys as I pictured them clop-clopping down the trail, then balking with the violinist's “hee-haw, hee-haw, hee-haw.” With each movement I could just see the sunrise over the canyons, feel saddle sore on the trail, then run for cover as a storm passed, and finally, sleep under the brilliant stars. It was music for the imagination.

But that sound thing I remembered. The thing that’s made me feel a little bit tickly inside. It happened when the music came to an end, but the record kept going around and around. You could hear the sound of the needle on vinyl, the speakers amplifying the “shhhh” as it floated over the the wide shiny space in the center. I suppose that sound didn’t last more than fifteen seconds, before the needle would lift and return itself to its arm rest.

And I would wait. Shhhh.

Here it comes. A click as the next record, which had been suspended like an umbrella top, was released. With a quiet “plop” it settled on the turntable and got up to speed in anticipation of the magic needle lifting and moving to the exact location of the thin, shiny space at the outer rim of the record. Again, the “shhhh” of the needle. What record was this? I couldn’t remember. I would have to wait a moment to find out. Shhhhhh. Oh, yes. There it is. Mahalia Jackson. I'm going to sleep well now.

I would close my eyes. Most nights, I made it through the entire stack of records, until the final shiny space at the center of the last one. The needle didn't always lift and there would be that long, "shhhh" as the vinyl went around and around and around. I'd hear my dad's footsteps and the cabinet lid squeak open. Then a "vvvvt" as the needle was swiftly lifted with his index finger and pushed to the side.  A click of the knob, and the lid closed tight. Slippers on carpet, lamps turned off. 

The memory of that sound  - the "shhhh" - made me remember the pause that came with it. The waiting for the next record. The wondering about the order they were put in. The anticipation of what was to come. Just a few seconds in all, but enough. Enough to appreciate the end of one record before starting another. Enough to wonder if the needle will get stuck? Oh, good, there it goes. Whew.

Sometimes I think we need those old-fashioned pauses again. We don't really live in a hi-fi world anymore. My IPod will play continuously on shuffle. Cable news is 24/7. Walmart is open all night. I can work throughout the weekend. Customer service is always available. I can call ahead for carry out. I can take care of emails on airplanes, and coffee shops and waiting rooms. Amazon delivers tomorrow. Everything is seamless, unbroken, uninterrupted. Everything moves at the speed of light. We juggle and hustle. There is no "shhhh" when a turntable goes around and around, as a needle waits to be lifted. No intermission in the noise and activity and bustle.

Shhhh. 

But you know what? I'm making a conscious effort to stop. To pause. To appreciate an event, or a song or a movement, before rushing to the next thing. I'm paying attention to the person in front of me, listening instead of scrolling through my texts. I'm tweeting and Facebooking less - because they eat up the pauses that are good for my soul.

Shhhh.

Today, I encourage you to choose quiet.

Allow pauses to enter your day without rushing to fill them. Stop all the multitasking. Quit feeling guilty for watching clouds, and listening to tree branches sway, and laying with your babies on the floor. Because in the pauses there is appreciation, and anticipation, and wonder. There is rhythm, and peace, and contentment. There are clicks and pops and whispers of God that you can only hear in the shiny spaces on vinyl, while a needle waits to be lifted.

Shhhh.

 

 

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Doing is not Being

I kept thinking about this little series on “Becoming” over the holiday weekend, and I had an uneasy feeling. (I also felt uneasy about the fact that I had internet issues and could not finish this post to publish it. I didn't have the wherewithal to use my phone to write a new post. Sorry about the wait. #firstworldprobs, right?)

Anyway, that first uneasy feeling came from the thought that I may have communicated an erroneous idea that becoming the person you want to be means achieving things. And while achievements may be a by-product of a mental shift, they are in no way the only measuring stick of personal success. I know of many great achievers who aren’t anything like the type of person I want to be. For example, just because you can run a marathon does not automatically mean that you are a kind and generous person. I’d rather be kind and generous than be a marathoner, even though I might admire the achievement.

 

It’s funny how easy it is to confuse “doing” with “being.” And I hope I didn’t leap straight to goal setting in a way that made it seem like that’s what it’s all about.

To clarify, I think that setting goals is an important means to an end: it helps you develop discipline and character in the process.

And it puts you in a position to make a difference in this world, because you are actively engaged in learning and growing. It gives you confidence to step out and try new things, just like these murals, below.

Just for fun: These photos are from one of my favorite child's room murals I did a few years ago. I love that it reminds me of how far I came from the first projects I tried. When I see this, I don't see "achievement," I see the years of discipline it took to learn how to paint. I see how small steps, taken time after time, made me feel confident enough to paint horses - something I'd never done before.

 

Even the chicken was fun to paint.

 

 

 

 

So when I talk about setting small personal goals, I think I'm already assuming a couple of things about you:

1. That you struggle, as I do, with at least one area of discipline.

Please note that your struggle does not make you less worthy, less desirable, less valuable or less important than those who are "natural" achievers. It makes you human, vulnerable and empathic.

2. That you are kind, loving and spiritually seeking.

Your goals are positive, life affirming and spiritual in the sense that they are based on good values.

Examples: a goal of being a better friend by extending an invitation to coffee once a month is based on a values of love and kindness. A goal of preparing for a promotion at work is based on the value of providing for your family.

 

My prayer in recent days has been, "God, help me to be the kind of person You want me to be. Help me be a reflection of Your love and grace in all things." I think that is a good starting place for all of us, especially as we think about setting goals. And yes, I think that walking 30 minutes, 3 days a week, is something that reflects His grace and goodness.

Ultimately, I believe that becoming that best version of yourself is by His power and for His glory. Our faith has never been about simply doing the right things - Jesus had a lot to say about those who looked perfect on the outside - but it's about being right on the inside.

 

Questions of the Day: Do you mistake achievement for character? When you set goals, do you think about the process of being the type of person who can reach them? We've been talking about setting small, achievable goals...how do they reflect the kind of character you want to develop in the process?

PS You can find the previous posts in this mini-series here and here.