It is easier to talk about God than talk to God. It is easier to read about God than listen to God. It is easier to think about God than to show up fully in God’s presence and just be. I love God but I also fear God. I don’t fear punishment in the traditional … More Necessary Falling
Have you ever yell-prayed? I have. Hoo boy, I have. It’s a despairing spot to be in, but later, when it’s over and you’ve made up and you’re in harmony with God once again, it can be a deeply satisfying thing. It gives you a history with God. It gives you the confidence to say, … More Yell-Praying
(Photo by Sally Holt) It’s rainbow weather here at church. So many tears. Sadness. Genuine grieving. Wet cheeks. Mascara problems. Deep sighs. It’s sad. And it hurts. But it’s rainbow weather. There is rain, yes, but the sun is shining, too. The children in the ministry moment. The choir. The stunning new worship backdrop. The … More Rainbow Weather
I just moved a snail from one place to another. It was entangled in yard debris, lying right in the path of danger, and I moved it. “You’re going to get stepped on,” I said, as I walked it from the confusion of the aggregate patio to the relative calm of the deck. This is … More Salvation
God, why do you wake me at 1:42 in the morning after a day of difficult and strong emotions? On regular days, you let me sleep. But on struggling days, you wake me at 1:42 in the morning. Why? What is it you think I am going to do? You know I’m too tired to … More 1:42am
“I realized that maybe who I am — if I possess the gifts and graces for the episcopacy — maybe who I am could be a gift to the church at this moment.” — Bishop Karen Oliveto, Religion News Service, July 19, 2016 Gifts and graces. Just that. Gifts and graces. God among us, God … More Gifts and Graces
first a great wind after the wind, an earthquake after the earthquake, a fire after the fire sheer silence I have been told God is in the silence. Trouble is, I am in the silence, too, and I am not silent. Thoughts dart at my head like when you get too close to a mockingbird’s … More Silence
Take a metal can. Fill it half full with gravel. Put a lid on it. Bring it up to your ear. Shake, vigorously. The noise will be incredible. The noise will be all-consuming. The noise will be a whole-body experience. You will feel it from the top of your head to the soles of your … More Noise
I’m sorry, but you have to be awake for this. No sleeping. No sedation. No looking out the window thinking about the grocery list. Birth, death, rebirth – happening right now, in front of you, and you have to be awake for this. Which one are you? Are you birthing something? Is something new passing … More Awake
Birds sing in the turning time, as dark gives way to light. They don’t need convincing. They don’t need inviting. They don’t need listeners. They know that their singing is part of why the light comes at all.
Lindy Thompson 