by emma | Apr 1, 2009 | Faith
On Sunday I had a relaxed morning; didn’t quite make it to join my church family for worship so I did my own thing… I went for a walk in the park, listened to some music, and spent time in Psalm 42.
Truth is, I haven’t been feeding myself like I should be; haven’t been in the Word like I know I should & want to be. This is my attempt at starting over! I thought I’d share some of my reflections on the passage. Feel free to jump in and comment too!
My tears have been my food day and night, (v.3)
This got me thinking… is the Psalmist making a statement, or is there something more profound going on here? Are the tears actually sustaining and nourishing him through this? What would it look like if that was true, if they somehow actually feed me, sustained me?
Why are you cast down, O my soul…
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, (v. 5)
Hope is a CHOICE. Such confidence that God will come through.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you (v. 6)
The remedy is to REMEMBER. When the darkness seems to overwhelm, remember all the times that have come before and how God has pulled through for me. I actually started writing a list; I needed to start thinking through it all so that I could remember… specific friendships, repeated financial provision, a holiday, a good cup of coffee, Foys gig in Belfast (don’t let the spirit die Lord)… the list could go on forever!
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me, (v.8 )
His love never leaves me. He is faithful to the end. What does it mean for his song to be with me?
Can you hear his song? Can you hear the refrain?
Remember, and hope.
by emma | Mar 1, 2009 | Faith
A few friends of mine recently launched a new website / podcast/ community called Centrelight. Matt & John host the regular podcast, discussing what church could be, and are looking for your input!
Stop by the website, check out Matt & John’s blogs, add your comments in the forum, contribute to the podcast…
by emma | Feb 15, 2009 | Faith, Musings
I took off a few days last week and headed on retreat, unplugging from the wider world for a couple days. I feel so much better for it! I disciplined myself to no email, no twitter, no internet… and honestly, it was harder than anticipated. It doesn’t seem to bother me so much when I’m abroad, but when I know it’s there & I could use it if I wanted to… it’s a lot harder not to. I think that time was an eye opener for me, that as much as I love the technology, to never let my worth come from my use of it. Nouwen wrote that as we embrace silence, we quickly discover how dependent we are…
“When we enter into solitude to be with God alone, we quickly discover how dependent we are. Without the many distractions of our daily lives, we feel anxious and tense. When nobody speaks to us, calls on us, or needs our help, we start feeling like nobodies. Then we begin wondering whether we are useful, valuable, and significant. Our tendency is to leave this fearful solitude quickly and get busy again to reassure ourselves that we are ‘somebodies’. But this is a temptation, because what makes us somebodies is not other people’s responses to us but God’s eternal love for us.”
[Henri Nouwen]
These words always hit me hard between the eyes, as I try to live them out and know how miserably I fail. I guess that’s why there is a constant refrain ‘to remember’ in the Bible; God calling us back to the root, to being somebody in his eyes alone. In that knowledge, I long to re-enter daily life with a slower pace; a more relaxed attitude. The world does not fall apart if I check out for a few days. God’s still in control.
I feel like I worked some holy margin back into my life over the last few days; like I gave myself a little space to dream, to play, to be again. I need that little bit of margin in my week to give me space to breathe and dream and create; that somewhat paradoxically actually increases productivity by taking time off. I know that’s been missing lately, and I desperately want to cling onto it this time round.
So tell me, what works for you guys? What rhythms, if any, do you have for your days & weeks? For those of you who often work weekends, when do you take time off?
by emma | Feb 4, 2009 | Faith
Tonight I wanted to go sit in a chapel or church building somewhere. You know, the kind with stained glass windows & high ceilings. The ones where, when you walk in, your gaze is instinctively drawn upwards, and so too your thoughts.
Instead, God took me on a walk through the snow.
I walked out of town, and I wandered around the west end. I ended up at the back of Glasgow University main building, my favourite thinking spot in the city. I stood at the flagpole staring out over the city, frustrated at my inability to voice concerns and stresses to those around me.
And in my frustration, God whispered.
The same God whom I have been annoyed at,
whom I haven’t been conversing with,
whom I have taken my pain out on.
He reminded me that he loves me.
He reminded me that he sees me like the snow that was falling all around me – whiter than white. That he has forgiven me, not only of the past but of the future.
And he dared me…
“I will shower my blessing on you with abundance, if you’ll only step out into the storm to receive it…”
Blessing & heartbreak at once, eh?
by emma | Jan 4, 2009 | Design, Faith, Social Justice
CONSPIRE!: Plotting Goodness is a quarterly publication that shares stories of community, revolutionary love, and creative new visions. Conspire! stubbornly insists that small, daily acts of faith, conviction, and integrity can change the world.
I found out about CONSPIRE! through Ryan, who’s part of the team crafting it. They’re looking for submissions for the first issue, I’ve just sent a few off! The deadline is soon (Jan 9), but if you’re keen you could make it! The official call for entries is below, check it out…
Call for visions and voices in our premier issue.
Spring 2009 (March) : Resurrection Stories
At the core of all Christian belief is this bizarre, astonishing, and absurd claim: That someone who was executed and killed came back to life three days later. Most of the time it seems that church folks allow that belief to be a safe, abstract spiritual idea without really grappling with its claim on their lives.
Does the resurrection of Jesus actually have an impact on our lives, personally and communally? Have we felt resurrection in our own experience? Has the resurrection story transformed the way we lived into certain situations or utterly changed the way we looked at our options? How?
Have we gone through real deaths – losing someone we loved, bathing and embalming
the loved one’s body marked by brutal violence, or feeling our hopes and possibilities crushed – only to come out at the other end, more alive and on fire with hope?
Or is resurrection the ultimate Christian mind-game–a story so hardwired into us that we are programmed to find resurrection whether or not it is actually there. Are our resurrection stories a placebo to cover up meaningless suffering and loss? Do we call things resurrection when what we actually mean is that we have gotten over some death and moved on?
This inaugural issue of Conspire! will launch around Easter, 2009. In it, we invite you to share your musings on resurrection. Your stories may come from your personal life, or from the life of your community, or from the world around you. How have you experienced world-shattering hope, good news that turns you upside down and changes your life – and is more than a spiritual cliché? Maybe resurrection happens in sly, subtle ways (after all, only a handful of people saw the risen Jesus!). Maybe resurrections are there all the time – but we finally learn to open our eyes to see them.
We are looking for various kinds of materials:
Articles: Articles can range from 200 to 1,500 words. We are looking for material that is personal, engaged, provocative, challenging – not scholarly, not too heady, but neither too simplistic or pious. Most articles should relate to the specific theme of the issue, though we will occasionally consider others as well.
Artwork and Photography: Do you have an eye for the visual image that compels our attention, draws forth deep resonance in our spirit, unveils the unseen beauty around us – or maybe is just cool? Let’s see what you have –maybe it fits in our pages.
Poetry: Do you weave words that yield the shock of beauty, the jolt of insight, the opening of new awareness? Send something our way – no long epics, please, no piety set to verse.
Short Fiction: Are you a spinner of yarns that probe the human condition, that navigate the interstices of meaning and mystery in our experience? Maximum of 1,500 words.
Reviews: Are there some great books, films, art, blogs, or other media out there that can spark our imagination, challenge our paradigms, empower us in our subversive revolution of love? Let us know – in under 500 words. (Note: Reviews do not have to tie into the theme of the issue.)
The deadline for submissions is January 9, 2009.
Send manuscripts, queries, ideas to: editors@conspiremagazine.com
No large image files, please. Small, low-res jpegs, or links to online galleries.
WHO WE ARE:
Conspire! is a quarterly publication that shares stories of community, revolutionary love, and creative new visions. Conspire! stubbornly insists that small, daily acts of faith, conviction, and integrity can change the world.
Since Conspire! is just starting, we are not able to offer compensation for articles at this point – but we certainly will provide you with a subscription!
www.conspiremagazine.com
by emma | Dec 28, 2008 | Faith
I was flicking back through the notes on my phone the other day, and found some notes I made on an old Rob Bell podcast a few months ago. As I read back over them, I realised how appropriate they are for the here and now, when people are looking to new things in the future… Thought I’d post them here for you to have a look.
The way the story has been, is not how the story has to go.
An emphasis on what we already are.
The scriptures are all about remembering.
This day, these relationships, it’s all a gift.
There’s always a larger story going on than we choose to tell.
The continual pulling back to remember.
You’ve got everything you need.
The kingdom of god in the reality of the here & now.
When we always want it to be like the past, we have a hard time imagining that it could be different in the future.
Some things are really difficult, & sometimes those difficulties are an invitation to become more honest, humble, etc.
So what is your story inviting you to become in the days ahead? What do we need to remember? Which gifts do we need to be more grateful for? Thought-provoking questions for me as we head towards a new year.
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