New Blogging Series// hints of grace

So I have decided to re-enter the blogging world. And every time I come back, I give it a facelift. So here we are with a new design, colors, and layout. That being said, I have returned for good reason. My mentor-pastor is going on Sabbatical. For those of you who are new to this world of church/seminary life, that means that the pastor with whom I am interning is taking an intentional break from her role. It is common for pastors to take a sabbatical every 5-7 years. Curran will be off on Sabbatical during September, October, and November. This means that I, with the help of several retired clergy and current chaplains, will be doing pastor-y things at church. [[That word (pastor-y) lacks a lot of authority, but I have yet to figure how to say that without saying "... will be running the church," because in the United Church of Christ, the pastor does not "run the church."]]

On top of three classes and life, these three months are going to be challenging-- I have no doubts about that. This is why I've decided to get back into blogging. Though it is time consuming, it is life-giving. It is one of three practices that I am committing myself to throughout these coming months. My self-care ritual will require that I do one of three things each day: meditate/pray, read and blog, or exercise. I have also given myself permission to shift this ritual if there comes a time when it becomes less life-giving than I need it to be. However, for now, I'm sticking to it.

The first book I will be reading and blogging about is called Uncommon Gratitude by Joan Chittister, OSB and former Archbishop Rowan Williams. It's an exploration of the use and meaning of the word "alleluia."

Lastly, I'm taking suggestions. I want to have a common title for my blog posts for the next three months like I did during JVC (e.g. Finding God:...) Comment here or on facebook and give me suggestions! And then keep posted. I should be blogging at least a couple times a week.

.stillness and sunsets.[[original poem]]

I wonder what would happen if we stopped.

Don't you? Don't you ever wonder?
What if we just stopped?
And i don't mean stopping,
dead in our tracks for a split second,
(like we often do at the sight of something unfamiliar).
I mean really stopped.
All movement put on hold.

Except for breathing.
Breathing is essential.

Imagine this:
All the peoples of the world
stopping; putting down
weapons and smartphones,
fear and ignorance.
Gathering on rooftops and mountains and beaches
just to watch the sunset.
And to stop.
They are the same thing, you know,
stillness and sunsets.
Nothing can cure the soul more.

Someone once told me,
"If you don't stop to look around,
you might miss something."

There are a lot of broken souls in this world of ours.
This same world in which the sun
rises in the morning and
sets in the evening.

What if for just thirty minutes
everyday, everyone, everywhere
stopped, stayed still, and
watched the sunset.

What then might the Kin-dom of God look like?

.the other side. [[original poem]]

There it goes
behind the mountains
before I can count 1, 2, 3, 4--
It's gone. It feels like it just
arrived.

The days are so full of
questions and laughter,
conversations and tears.
I can't help but to notice the quickness
with which the sun sets.
Sunsets.
Perhaps it wants to
escape
this broken world.
Or maybe his mother called him
home.
They say the earth
moves
around the sun.
Which is to say the sun
didn't move
at all.

I like to think the sun
has a date
with the other side of the world.

.song/poetry/God.same(thing).

One of my new favorite poems discovered today...
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Writing Lessons (by Nikki Giovanni, Blues for all the Changes)

There are... still... so many books I want to read... and reread...

There are...still... so many places I want to travel... to...

There are... still... foods I want to eat... and drinks I want to sample...

There are... blankets to lie upon or under...

There are... pillows upon which to prop my books or my head...

I definitely want to rocket to outer space... I also want to explore inner space...

I know no one ever wished they had been meaner...

Or hated more...

Or spent more hours away from people they loved...

I know that life is interesting and you can never go wrong Being interested

If I were giving advice I would say: Sing
    People who sing to themselves
    People who make variations on songs they know
    People who teach songs to other people
    These are the people other people want to be with

and that will let you be a good writer
     Because

There are... still... so many ideas to conceive

.unpacking the God box.

The (current) predominant perception of God suggests that God is:

• Omniscient (all-knowing)
• Omnipotent (all-powerful)
• Impassable
• Eternal
• Immutable (unchanging)

This theory (called "classical theism") originated in the theology of Augustine (~4th c.) and has been expounded on by theologians and pastors ever since.

Let's get something clear: 

This perception has really messed up people
[and people's understanding of who God is]

-----------

With that in mind, know this:

Just because it was espoused by a single person 

and then talked about like it was absolutely True, 

doesn’t mean it has to be the Truth. 

Think about it. 

Who is God to you?