rain pours down
covering everything in sight
nothing is exempt or safe
from its pounding
thunder rumbles shaking
everything to the core
lightening flashes in all
the hidden corners
deafening blows that leave
no room for clear thoughts
flashes so bright that
nothing comes into focus
boom, boom, boom
quickly shattering all that is
drip, drip, drip
slowly chipping away
Friday, February 3, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
The first week of Barth
One week into the year and I'm already behind. However, I take great comfort in the fact that I am doing this for fun and for personal enrichment and therefore and not bound by course restrictions or time tables for this reading.
I am not used to Barth's writing style yet. That may take a while. And, I often have to go back and reread sections or reread definitions to keep everything straight. I'm quite sure it doesn't really hurt me.
So here are some thoughts from the first week.
1) For Barth, dogmatics is a part of theology, a subset (or specific part) if you will. It focuses on the content of what the Church says about God. So, it would seem that his entire work is a study of what the church says (or how it talks) about God in respect to various aspects such as the Word of God, God, Creation, etc.
2) Barth is obviously engaged in a conversation (whether real or in his own thinking) between the Modern Liberalists and the Roman Catholic Church. This helps put his ideas into historical context, especially when we remember he was writing in the early 20th century. He bounces back and forth between the two groups as he makes his case for his understanding of dogmatics.
3) It was interesting to reflect on the section about the Church and Proclamation the day before preaching a sermon that came quite by the Spirit. I had written an entire sermon and woke up at 4am to wrestle with Spirit, ending in the rewriting of much of it.
I'm still working through exactly what Barth is saying about the above. It's taking some time to get used to his way of thinking and writing after a couple of years away from theological academia.
More to come...
I am not used to Barth's writing style yet. That may take a while. And, I often have to go back and reread sections or reread definitions to keep everything straight. I'm quite sure it doesn't really hurt me.
So here are some thoughts from the first week.
1) For Barth, dogmatics is a part of theology, a subset (or specific part) if you will. It focuses on the content of what the Church says about God. So, it would seem that his entire work is a study of what the church says (or how it talks) about God in respect to various aspects such as the Word of God, God, Creation, etc.
2) Barth is obviously engaged in a conversation (whether real or in his own thinking) between the Modern Liberalists and the Roman Catholic Church. This helps put his ideas into historical context, especially when we remember he was writing in the early 20th century. He bounces back and forth between the two groups as he makes his case for his understanding of dogmatics.
3) It was interesting to reflect on the section about the Church and Proclamation the day before preaching a sermon that came quite by the Spirit. I had written an entire sermon and woke up at 4am to wrestle with Spirit, ending in the rewriting of much of it.
I'm still working through exactly what Barth is saying about the above. It's taking some time to get used to his way of thinking and writing after a couple of years away from theological academia.
More to come...
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Books Read in 2011
Every year I try to read widely. This year has been no different. But, I didn't make my goal of reading 75 books. I did read some rather lengthy works, however. Below is the list of books I've completed in the past 12 months in alpha order.
I have a long list for next year as well, including some daily reading items. Maybe I'll blog about some of them as I go along.
I have a long list for next year as well, including some daily reading items. Maybe I'll blog about some of them as I go along.
1) 13 Little Blue Envelopes
2) 55 Ways to Meditate
3) A Century Turns
4) A Dog Named Slugger
5) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
6) AIDS2031
7) Back on Murder
8) Bullying
9) Cannery Row
10) Change the World
11) Change Your Church for Good
12) Civil Disobedience
13) Common Sense
14) Confronting the Challenges of Participatory…Media
15) Dancing in the Lowcountry
16) East of Eden
17) Fireflies in December
18) Five Fruitful Practices
19) Hostile Witness
20) In the Name of Jesus
21) Invisible
22) Les Miserables
23) Life is so Good
24) Love Me If You Must
25) Love Wins
26) On the Run
27) Pure Pleasure
28) Reaching People under 40 While Keeping People over 60
29) Recreating the Church
30) The Bible
31) The Equipping Church
32) The Handbag’s Tale
33) The Pursuit of God
34) The Wounded Healer
35) Up From Slavery
36) Number the Stars
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
When you just don't "feel" the Christmas Spirit...
I'm part of a Facebook group of young clergy women. One of them asked about the "emotions" of Christmas and how we deal with it when we don't "feel it." I can relate. While I have a fairly high Birkman score on the emotional side of things, I am such a control freak that I want to control what emotions I show. I don't tend to be overly dramatic about much of anything without some serious effort. And, Christmas is one season where that is especially so.
I've walked with lots of people in the last few weeks who are experiencing the hard, daunting, painful tasks that life brings. Death. Divorce. Serious illness. Financial crisis. Loss of faith. This year just hasn't seemed joyful and I wasn't quite sure what to do with that. I couldn't force or fake being happy and joyful. And, I'm okay with knowing I don't really have to be.
For this year at least, I have re-framed what Christmas means. I focused on incarnation....the totality of incarnation. Christ came, put on flesh and walked the dusty roads of this broken world in order to live life fully. And, to show us what it means to live life to the fullest. (Seems like John said something about that, too.) Living life fully means Christ experienced heartache, pain, grief, betrayal, hunger, exhaustion and frustration. And yet, we saw how He engaged all of those things. He didn't run from them or try to lessen the effects. He lived fully; He lived faithfully. We see how to walk the journey with trust and hope that one day all will be right.
That day isn't today. And it won't be tomorrow. But, we if we have experienced this world in a more full way (by engaging the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful), we can help walk with others who need to be pointed toward the wholeness we find in God's kingdom which is both now and ever-coming.
This reshaping has helped me make more sense of the current situation I find myself in as I think about what the appropriate "emotions" are for this holy season.
Grace and peace.
I've walked with lots of people in the last few weeks who are experiencing the hard, daunting, painful tasks that life brings. Death. Divorce. Serious illness. Financial crisis. Loss of faith. This year just hasn't seemed joyful and I wasn't quite sure what to do with that. I couldn't force or fake being happy and joyful. And, I'm okay with knowing I don't really have to be.
For this year at least, I have re-framed what Christmas means. I focused on incarnation....the totality of incarnation. Christ came, put on flesh and walked the dusty roads of this broken world in order to live life fully. And, to show us what it means to live life to the fullest. (Seems like John said something about that, too.) Living life fully means Christ experienced heartache, pain, grief, betrayal, hunger, exhaustion and frustration. And yet, we saw how He engaged all of those things. He didn't run from them or try to lessen the effects. He lived fully; He lived faithfully. We see how to walk the journey with trust and hope that one day all will be right.
That day isn't today. And it won't be tomorrow. But, we if we have experienced this world in a more full way (by engaging the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful), we can help walk with others who need to be pointed toward the wholeness we find in God's kingdom which is both now and ever-coming.
This reshaping has helped me make more sense of the current situation I find myself in as I think about what the appropriate "emotions" are for this holy season.
Grace and peace.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Barth in 2012
Once again, I am attempting to read through Church Dogmatics in the years 2012 and 2013. Spurred on by one of my seminary professors (Mike Stroope) I am going to take the challenge.
My friend Jerry and I will be starting a blog specifically for our Barth and CD reading some time soon. Hopefully, that will keep me focused and determined to stick it out. And, I really do want to do this. I just get sidetracked with so much other reading and work responsibilities.
Barth may be one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, theologian on the 20th century. I know I may not agree with all he says, but it's important work to wrestle with and think critically about theology. Doing that in conversation with great theologians and good friends help a lot and offers a range of understanding.
More to come as we embark on the journey.
Grace and peace.
My friend Jerry and I will be starting a blog specifically for our Barth and CD reading some time soon. Hopefully, that will keep me focused and determined to stick it out. And, I really do want to do this. I just get sidetracked with so much other reading and work responsibilities.
Barth may be one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, theologian on the 20th century. I know I may not agree with all he says, but it's important work to wrestle with and think critically about theology. Doing that in conversation with great theologians and good friends help a lot and offers a range of understanding.
More to come as we embark on the journey.
Grace and peace.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Another Set of Goals...
Every year I set some goals at the onset of the calendar. 2012 will be no different. Below I will list several goals I want to accomplish and then I'll check in periodically and let you know how I'm doing.
1. Work through health issues - 2011 has been the year for wacky, crazy, but non-life-threatening medical issues. A bad abdominal pain that was diagnosed as colon spasms. An eternal (4 month) upper respiratory infection (along with some bronchitis). Bad reaction to meds for my lungs that is causing fairly significant leg pain: hips, knees, feet, tendonitis, cramps, general pain that leads to difficulty in sitting and lying down. Then, a diagnosis of asthma. So, this year, lose weight to help with all that and do what it takes to get back to where I was six months ago.
2. Read - 75 books already on my list. Hope to be much closer in 2012 than in 2011. About 35 books in 2011.
3. Barth Reading - I'm going to be faithful to read through the Dogmatics. I was going to do this in 2011, but quickly gave up. I'm going to push through in 2012 and 2013 to read through the entire work. About 15 pages a day.
4. Engage in intentional community - FCC has some amazing young adults that have started coming. We are meeting once a month to eat and share life and prayer and community. Also, a new group of young adults have started gathering for what we call "Faith on Tap." We meet once a month and talk about faith and how to live out our particular brand of faith in the world. This is good, healthy, life-giving community.
I could go on and on about goals, but four seems to be a good number to actually attempt.
Now off to see how much of 2011's goals I can manage to squeeze in before the clock strikes midnight.
Grace and peace.
1. Work through health issues - 2011 has been the year for wacky, crazy, but non-life-threatening medical issues. A bad abdominal pain that was diagnosed as colon spasms. An eternal (4 month) upper respiratory infection (along with some bronchitis). Bad reaction to meds for my lungs that is causing fairly significant leg pain: hips, knees, feet, tendonitis, cramps, general pain that leads to difficulty in sitting and lying down. Then, a diagnosis of asthma. So, this year, lose weight to help with all that and do what it takes to get back to where I was six months ago.
2. Read - 75 books already on my list. Hope to be much closer in 2012 than in 2011. About 35 books in 2011.
3. Barth Reading - I'm going to be faithful to read through the Dogmatics. I was going to do this in 2011, but quickly gave up. I'm going to push through in 2012 and 2013 to read through the entire work. About 15 pages a day.
4. Engage in intentional community - FCC has some amazing young adults that have started coming. We are meeting once a month to eat and share life and prayer and community. Also, a new group of young adults have started gathering for what we call "Faith on Tap." We meet once a month and talk about faith and how to live out our particular brand of faith in the world. This is good, healthy, life-giving community.
I could go on and on about goals, but four seems to be a good number to actually attempt.
Now off to see how much of 2011's goals I can manage to squeeze in before the clock strikes midnight.
Grace and peace.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Goals for 2011
Well, here we are in October of 2011 and I've only checked in on goals once this year!? Of course, I haven't done all that well, so I'm not wanting to update.
1. Get Healthy - I've lost a little weight, but nothing that is intentional. In fact, I've had some pretty crazy medical things going on the last six months. For the last three months I've been fighting a respiratory/sinus infection that keeps trying to move into pneumonia. I have had four, yes FOUR, rounds of antibiotics and it just isn't working. So, I am meeting with my doctor on Monday to talk about seeing a specialist. I can't handle not being able to breathe and running a constant low grade fever much longer. And, I can't handle many more days of this low blood pressure either. Hopefully, better health is coming soon.
2. Read Widely - I've read widely, but I haven't read nearly as much as I intended. I have finished 24 books and am in process with four. One of those is Les Miserables. It's 1200-1400 pages in print depending on which translation you get. I'm reading it on my Kindle app, so I'm 50% through it. I am also reading a book about the future of AIDS, a book about a man who grew up in East Texas during the days of the great depression and segregation, and a book about church transformation.
3. Finances - Well, I'm not as far along as I'd like, but I haven't done anything too outlandish. And, I've received some generous gifts from several house sitting gigs this year. I'm moving out on my own (well, that's a relative phrase) in the next several weeks, so this is becoming a more pressing issue to attend to.
4. Writing - This is very low on my Birkman score and true to that, I haven't written as much as I'd like. I know it is good for me. I need to talk through my ideas and fears and dreams. Writing is one way to "talk" but I prefer talking with my voice rather than a pen. I need to make this a priority.
5. Professional growth - I finished up my Licensed Minister's Training program in April. It was good, helpful to understand what it means to be Disciples. I have done some theological reading and some "fun" reading that I would count in this. And, I spent three months in a professional coaching relationship with True Course Ministries. That too was helpful.
6. Getting a Life - I have found some friends my own age in recent days. They starting coming to the church and we hit it off pretty quickly. We now spend some time during the week talking about life and faith and stuff. In fact, we are trying to meet all together at least once a month for fellowship.
Overall, this is still a work in progress. I'm not going to make some of the goals, but that's okay. It's having goals that move us forward further than no goals at all. I believe I will be able to say that I am better for having set them and at least checked in on them several times a year.
Shalom.
1. Get Healthy - I've lost a little weight, but nothing that is intentional. In fact, I've had some pretty crazy medical things going on the last six months. For the last three months I've been fighting a respiratory/sinus infection that keeps trying to move into pneumonia. I have had four, yes FOUR, rounds of antibiotics and it just isn't working. So, I am meeting with my doctor on Monday to talk about seeing a specialist. I can't handle not being able to breathe and running a constant low grade fever much longer. And, I can't handle many more days of this low blood pressure either. Hopefully, better health is coming soon.
2. Read Widely - I've read widely, but I haven't read nearly as much as I intended. I have finished 24 books and am in process with four. One of those is Les Miserables. It's 1200-1400 pages in print depending on which translation you get. I'm reading it on my Kindle app, so I'm 50% through it. I am also reading a book about the future of AIDS, a book about a man who grew up in East Texas during the days of the great depression and segregation, and a book about church transformation.
3. Finances - Well, I'm not as far along as I'd like, but I haven't done anything too outlandish. And, I've received some generous gifts from several house sitting gigs this year. I'm moving out on my own (well, that's a relative phrase) in the next several weeks, so this is becoming a more pressing issue to attend to.
4. Writing - This is very low on my Birkman score and true to that, I haven't written as much as I'd like. I know it is good for me. I need to talk through my ideas and fears and dreams. Writing is one way to "talk" but I prefer talking with my voice rather than a pen. I need to make this a priority.
5. Professional growth - I finished up my Licensed Minister's Training program in April. It was good, helpful to understand what it means to be Disciples. I have done some theological reading and some "fun" reading that I would count in this. And, I spent three months in a professional coaching relationship with True Course Ministries. That too was helpful.
6. Getting a Life - I have found some friends my own age in recent days. They starting coming to the church and we hit it off pretty quickly. We now spend some time during the week talking about life and faith and stuff. In fact, we are trying to meet all together at least once a month for fellowship.
Overall, this is still a work in progress. I'm not going to make some of the goals, but that's okay. It's having goals that move us forward further than no goals at all. I believe I will be able to say that I am better for having set them and at least checked in on them several times a year.
Shalom.
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