Tag Archives: eucharisto

It Isn’t About Those Cups!

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The Starbucks seasonal cups are the talk of the town and world as of late.

But, my friends, Christmas is not at all about those red cups. Christmas is about Jesus—Emmanuel (God with us)–who comes into the world in an unlikely place; in a dirty stable in Bethlehem. This infant comes into the world as our savior who later will die on a cross for each and every one of us. This infant is the person who is our one true king who enters the world in the unlikeliest form; a lowly infant.

So often we forget the true reason for the season. This holiday has become so commercialized. Stores cannot even wait for the Halloween costumes to be packed away before they pull out the Christmas decorations. I love decorating for Christmas and don’t think there is anything wrong with decorating before Thanksgiving at all–especially when we have the right motives. But I also believe Thanksgiving opens the door to “Eucharisto”; giving thanks for all God has given and blessed us with in our lives.

“Eucharisto” continually reminds me of what God did when God chose Mary and Joseph to be Jesus’ parents. “Eucharisto” reminds me of the power of God’s love for all of God’s people. “Eucharisto” is Jesus born in that stable in Bethlehem. And “Eucharisto” is giving thanks for that infant Jesus; the unlikely one chosen to be the Messiah; the Messiah we are called to celebrate and remember not just one day a year, but all year round.

One day, when I was at seminary, my friends and I walked into our friend Louise’s office. As we entered her office, my friend Mark immediately noticed a nativity set out on Louise’s desk. It was the spring of the year, so we found that just a little odd. My friend Mark being Mark asked, “Why do you have a nativity set up?  It’s not Advent or Christmas.” I’ll never forget our friend’s response. She smiled and asked, “Should we celebrate Jesus just one day a year?” To which we all replied, “Not at all.” She then shared that she keeps one up all year long to remind her of the promises that come in that infant son. Ever since, I keep a nativity up all year long to remind me of that too! (Talk about a conversation starter!)



And that’s the thing friends, Advent is about waiting for this precious son to be born. It is about the birth of this chosen one called to be our Messiah. It is NOT about what is or is not on those red Starbucks cups. It is about who and whose we are. It is about this one who comes as the light in the midst of the darkness.

This Advent and Christmas may we take the time to break bread, give thanks and spend time with those we love; knowing that God loves us so much that God sent God’s son into the world; to be our Messiah; to be a world changer; a world changer who sat and broke bread with tax collectors and sinners.

Linking up at Inspire Me Monday


Staring Back at Me

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Little did I know that when I began this blog, that this space would become exactly my mirror staring back at me. In this space, I have written about being a daughter of someone who daily struggles with a mental illness. I have written about the joy I find in playing and spending time with children. I have written about my deepest desires asking “How long, Lord? Oh how long Lord?” I have written about friendships that only God can orchestrate. I have written about who and whose I am!

Last October, when I joined the Write 31 Days challenge, I never would have imagined how healing my series would be for me, but it healed wounds that I didn’t even know where still there. It opened up my world to others who have blessed my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined. And to be honest, writing our story down was and continues to be one of the bravest things that I have ever done. Because even yet today, our journey of mental illness ebbs and flows. There are days I am proud of who I am, proud of where I have come from, but then there are days, that I wonder why us, why our family.
A year ago, during the Write 31 Days challenge, I penned the words below (in italics) after completing the Write 31 Days challenge. Even looking back at them now, I realize how vulnerable I was. In the words of Ann in this chapter, I never realized how desperately I wanted and needed to share our story. Ann writes: “I desperately wanted to understand myself, unearth who I was meant to become. And deep down, I wanted to write.” Yep, I wanted and needed to write! Yes, there have been times when I was afraid to hit the publish button and there are other pieces of our story that I have held close to my chest. But unearthing our story led me to realize how brave and strong my Mom is, but also how brave and strong I am as her daughter.

An excerpt from Praying on the Prairie originally posted on October 31, 2015:

“You do not need to know precisely what is happening or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope”–Thomas Merton


“Saying yes to the situations that stretch you and scare you and ask you to be a better you than you think you can be”–Annie Downs; Lets All Be Brave; P. 107

I am reminded of a word “eucharisto.” It is a word that my colleague shared with me a year ago in his sermon on the day I shared with the congregation that I was leaving and had accepted a new call. In that sermon, my colleague talked about listing our blessings and thanking God for all the things God gives us. He later told us that the word in the text for ‘thanksgiving’ is translated ‘Eucharisto.’ As I sat there and listened to his sermon, I found myself reflecting on that word. And today I find myself clinging to that word again.


As I sit here this morning and reflect on the last 31 days, I find myself once again clinging to that word ‘eucharisto.’ This write31 days community has blessed me in more ways than I can count or even imagine! Today I am so very thankful for each and every one of you; for you who shared your stories with me, for you who told me how my story blessed you, and for each of who ventured to participate in this challenge. So today I am uttering these words back to you my dear friends, ‘Eucharisto!’


And as I give thanks for each of you, I am also very thankful for my momma. She has been through so much. Yet she is one of the most beautiful faith-filled women that I know. Our story of mental illness will always be a part of who my mom is and who my family is. I hope that through these 31 days, I have been able to let so many know they are not alone. I also hope that I have been able to share our story, and shatter, at least, some of the stigma associated with mental illness. Thank you for reading my story and walking with us through these 31 days because I am a daughter; a daughter of someone who daily lives and struggles with a mental illness. And the truth is I will always be that daughter.


I am and always will be that daughter. This summer was a great summer, but it also was crummy too. While I was in Colorado, Mom ended up in the hospital. The doctor diagnosed her with a urinary tract infection. She was released from the hospital and seemed to be doing well. Only a few days after I returned from Colorado, I got a call saying she had gone to the doctor again. They said it was still the UTI and after time, she would be fine again. Then on our way back from the National Youth Gathering, I got a call from the nursing home yet again. Mom was adamantly asking to move (which made no sense because she loves it there) This was a side of Mom that we had not seen. No answers…and only more and more confusion. While my sister and I were on our sister’s trip, we got a call asking to move her. We were adamant about her not moving, yet there seemed to be no solution. With much hesitation, we gave permission to move her to a new facility. She seems happy there, but still is not the Mom we have known and loved. I only have more and more questions and no answers. My prayer is that soon Mom will return to her old self and will be able to move back closer to me. (Instead of 45 minutes from me, she is now like 4 hours away).

Like our story continues to ebb and flow, I am realizing how healing it is for me to share our story. I sit her with my cup of tea, talking to you like an old friend. And I take comfort in knowing that this old friend knows me and our story. (I also have dear friends that I can do this with in real life too!) And as you listen, I find myself leaning in to tell you more of my story.

In telling my story, I find that it is also important to play. I love holding infants. There is something so holy about holding that little life in my hands. On Monday, I made a pit stop to see a dear friend and her new baby. It was just exactly what the doctor ordered. This weekend, I was able to spend time with my family. I helped my aunt put up veggies from my Grandma’s garden. I sat and broke bread with my dad and sister at the cafe downtown. My sister and I laughed and smiled as we learned how to use our new selfie sticks.

But, the most joy was playing with our brand new farm puppy Kotee. Kotee loved all the attention my sister and I gave him. He was a little wound up by the time our aunt and uncle headed back to the farm. (Sorry P and T!) The best was seeing how much grandma enjoyed Kotee. Recovering from surgery, Kotee brought joy and peace to Grandma. He was the best medicine for her! And seeing that reminded me, reminded all of us of the importance of remembering to play.

As we remember to play, I am reminded of how life too ebbs and flows. It has its ups and its downs. It has its moments of ordinariness and extra-ordinariness.

“Life is amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between the amazing and the awful it’s ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.’–LR Knost

This Messed Up Glorious Church

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Put a good book in my hands, a gorgeous summer day, my patio and a Starbucks Refresher or iced tea and I am one happy camper. However this summer, I have not been able to read on my patio as much as I have wanted. That is what I get for being such a crazy traveler this summer. However I wouldn’t give up those trips for anything. So this past week I have been making up for lost time! Friday I finished the book “Orphan Train” that I sadly began last May.

Saturday morning, I picked up the next book on my pile “Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church” by Rachel Held Evans. And my friends, I devoured this book. I read it in three days. Rachel’s words are words that all of us need to hear. She reminds us of the gift of God’s grace and the beauty of this glorious yet sometimes messed up church.

Church is the place where we can experience that grace, but church is more than a church building. Church is everywhere where”two or three are gathered in Christ’s name.” Church is where we experience loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. Church is every bit of it grace. Rachel captures it best when she writes:

“Church is a moment in time when the kingdom of God draws near, when a meal, a story, a song, an apology, and even a failure is made holy by the presence of Jesus among us and within us. Church was alive and well long before we came up with the words relevant and missional, and church will go on long after the grass grows through our cathedral floors. The holy Trinity doesn’t need our permission to carry on in their endlessly resourceful work of making all things new. That we are invited to catch even a glimpse of the splendor is grace. All of it, every breath and every second, is grace.” (Searching For Sunday, Rachel Held Evans; P. 113)

Oh how true my friends. We are all invited to experience the gift of God’s grace. God’s grace is eucharisto and has a way of always getting through. God’s grace is always always enough! It is a gift of healing and reconciliation for all of God’s people; saints and sinners alike.

 
“But our God is in the business of transforming ordinary things into holy things, scraps of food into feasts and empty purification vessels into fountains of fine wine. This God God knows his way around the world, so there’s no need to fear, no need to withhold, no need to stake a claim. There’s always enough—just taste and see. There’s always and ever enough. (Searching, Rachel Held Evans, P. 157).”

The gift is that church is the one place where God invites all of us to come to the table. Church is the place where we can share in our “me toos.” Church is the place where we can come and know that we are imperfect people loved by a perfect God. And as imperfect people, we are going to stumble along the way. We are going to disagree. We are going to have to ask for God’s forgiveness. We are going to have to pick ourselves, dust ourselves off and continue to journey along. We are going to have to be continually reminded of who and whose we are.

And as God’s beloved children, we are always invited to the table; called to ‘taste and see’ what Christ has done for us. It is our call as Christ’s disciples to invite others to that table as well; to know that this table is for all of us with all of our brokenness to come and REMEMBER all Christ has done for us. I realize that is not an easy call for any of us, but that is the beauty of God’s grace, God calls us to show God’s love to one another. And in this book, Rachel continually reminds us of this glorious messed up church whose doors are open to all of God’s people.

“And even still, the kingdom of God remains a mystery just beyond our grasp. It is here, and not yet, present and still to come. Consummation, whatever that means, awaits us. Until then, all we have are metaphors. All we have are almosts and not quites and wayside shrines. All we have are imperfect people in an imperfect world doing their best to produce outward signs of inward grace and stumbling along the way. All we have is this church–this lousy, screwed-up, glorious church–which by God’s grace is enough. (Searching for Sunday, P. 256)

And to that my friends, I simply say AMEN!

I am linking up with Jennifer Dukes Lee and Tell His Story and Holley Gerth and Coffee for Your Heart.

 



The Ra Ra Sisterhood

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Do you remember the movie ” The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants?” The movie is about friends who share a pair of pants. It is one of those feel good movies that just makes a person smile. Earlier today, on one of my blogging FB groups, a friend shared about an accomplishment on her blog and another friend simply commented “Ra Ra Sisterhood.” And immediately a smile came upon my face. I love that term because that is exactly how I feel about this group of ladies in my life.

I never knew social media could be such a positive encouraging experience. (Don’t get me wrong we have to be careful but social media can and is a positive influence in my life!) I never realized how many friends I could meet on social media. Since beginning and finishing the Write 31 Days challenge, my life has been blessed by amazing woman.  This past year, when I moved to a new community, God blessed me with amazing friendships here in my community. But then God began placing blogging friends and women in my life as well. I tell you my cup is truly running over! 
And then I decided to participate in the FMFSnailMailParty. I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing it has been to open my mailbox and find an encouraging word. In all honesty, it amazes me each and every time how your words speak to me friends! 
The thing is that these friendship started on the world wide web have no lines. In fact, the lines of age are continually blurred. The distance in miles doesn’t seem so far away when I open up my phone and hear a Vox from a new friend. You have continually cheered me on. You have continually reminded me that I am good enough. You have continually reminded me that I DO have worthy words to say. And the thing is I see us continually doing that for each other. I have seen us pray for each other. I have heard us rejoice in each other’s good news. 
My cup is continuing to run over, my friends! And it is all because of you….my dear soul sisters here in my community. And because of you….my blogging friends….my Ra Ra Sisterhood! I don’t know how a girl could get so lucky.

EUCHARISTO! 

Giving Thanks For These 31 Days

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“You do not need to know precisely what is happening or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith, and hope.”–Thomas Merton

“Say yes to the situations that stretch you and scare you and ask you to be a better you than you think you can be.”–Annie Downs; Lets All Be Brave, P. 107 (These two quotes capture my feelings of how I have felt during these 31 days. I was definetely extremely afraid to share my story but I felt the need to share our story!)

Well here we are…the 31st day of October…meaning it is also Day 31 of the #write31 days challenge. When I dove in and took this journey, I never imagined the ways it would stretch me, would bless me and would introduce me to so many amazing blogs and writers. (Yes, I indeed did call you each a writer because you are!)

There is so much I want to say to each of you. I never thought that by being vulnerable and sharing my story, I would impact so many people. It is amazing to me how this whole process has introduced me to so many amazing friends. I have always commented how sometimes you meet people and it is like you have been friends FOREVER. I feel that way about so many of you! I hope that someday we get the opportunity to meet InRL.

I am reminded of a word “eucharisto.” It is a word that my colleague shared with me a year ago in his sermon on the day I shared with the congregation that I was leaving and had accepted a new call. In that sermon, my colleague talked about listing our blessings and thanking God for all the things God gives us. He later told us that the word in the text for “thanksgiving” is translated “Eucharisto.” As I sat there and listened to his sermon, I found myself reflecting on that word. And today I find myself clinging to that word again.

As I sit here this morning and reflect on the last 31 days, I find myself once again clinging to that word “eucharisto.” This write31 days community has blessed me in more ways than I can count or even imagine! Today I am so very thankful for each and every one of you; for you who shared your stories with me, for you who told me how my story blessed you, and for each of you who ventured to participate in this challenge. So today I am uttering these words back to you my dear friends, “eucharisto!”

And as I give thanks for each of you, I am also very thankful for my momma. She has been through so much. Yet she is one of the most beautiful faith-filled women that I know. Our story of mental illness will always be a part of who my mom is and who my family is. I hope that through these 31 days, I have been able to let so many know they are not alone. I also hope that I have been able to share our story and shatter, at least, some of the stigma associated with mental illness. Thank you for reading my story and walking with us through these 31 days because I am a daughter; a daughter of someone who daily lives and struggles with a mental illness. And the truth is I will always be that daughter.

I want to close with a Psalm. This Psalm has become one of my favorite Psalms. I think it captures so well how I feel about our journey with mental illness. I think most specifically of this verse in the New Revised Standard Translation, “Weeping may come for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Yes, there have been many tears throughout our journey, but there have also been times of great joy as well.

“I give you all the credit, God–you got me out of that mess, you didn’t let my foes gloat. God, my God, I yelled for help and you put me together. God, you pulled me out of the grave, gave me another chance at life when I was down and out. All you saints! Sing your hearts out to God! Thank him to his face! He gets angry once in awhile, but across a lifetime there is only love. The nights of crying your eyes out give way to days of laughter. When things were going great I crowed, ‘I’ve got it made. I’m God’s favorite. He made me king of the mountain.’ Then you looked the other way and I fell to pieces. I called out to you, O  God; I laid my care before you: ‘Can you sell me for a profit when I’m dead? Auction me off at a cemetary yard sale? When I’m ‘dust to dust’ my songs and stories of you won’t sell. So listen! And be kind! Help me out of this! You did it! You changed wild lament into whirling dance; You ripped off my black mourning band and decked me with wildflowers. I’m about to burst with song; I can’t keep quiet about you. God, my God, I can’t thank you enough.”–Psalm 30 (The Message Translation)

Eucharisto

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“Eucharisto”

It’s a word that has been replaying in my head today as I reflect on my colleague’s sermon from this morning. In his sermon, he talked about listing our blessings and thanking God for all the things he gives us. He later told us that the word in the text for thanksgiving is translated Eucharisto. As I sat there and listened to his sermon, I found myself reflecting on that word. At the end of that service, I shared with this beloved community of faith that I was leaving and have accepted a new call. Then at the beginning of the second service, I had to share that letter again.

As I sat their and reflected on the past six years, I found myself clinging to that word “eucharisto” because this community of faith has blessed me in more ways than I can count or even imagine! This community of faith has continually wrapped me in God’s grace and mercy. This community of faith has completely made me into the woman leader that I am today!

And little did I realize how I had also blessed them until this morning. It was unbelievable to me how many people came up to me and told me congrats or told me how much I have grown or simply just gave me a hug and said, I cant say anything more right now (And in that simple action…they told me more than they ever needed to say!)

I know that the next 5 weeks, as I prepare to leave this beloved community of faith, will go quickly! I know that this community of faith will wrap another leader just like they have wrapped me and the leaders before me. But yet it is so bittersweet! And so I find myself clinging once again to that word “Eucharisto” (The Great Thanksgiving). One member came up to me today and simply uttered that simple word to me “Eucharisto.”

So tonight I find myself uttering it back! I am thankful for the homes and families I have been blessed to walk with at DLC. I am thankful for my dear colleagues and friends. I am thankful for Pr M and his wife S. I have learned so much from M and will always consider him a mentor and friend. I am thankful for my Tuesday morning ladies. I have learned so much about life and living for them. I am thankful for C; our office secretary. She has blessed me in so many and various ways! I am thankful for….You, and you, and you, and you……(I wish I could name you all here but that would make this ONE REALLY LONG BLOG POST!) 🙂 I am thankful for soooo much!!!

“Eucharisto” my brothers and sisters in Christ!