sacred journey. . .

Some invitations we simply cannot explain. . . you just know you have to say yes! That is exactly how I felt when Anne Looney from Springfield Tennessee asked me to create a funeral pall in memory of her mother Honey King. She wanted to offer an alternative option for people who could not afford the expensive flower spray. Before I had time to think about the depth of this commitment, I had already agreed to her invitation. . . I cannot expalin why, I just did. I had never created a funeral pall before nor had I created a piece this large. Again, I just knew I was suppose to accept this invitation without fear.

Anne's mother Honey King lived 100 years of life and from what I understand, almost lived to be 101. I don't know much about Honey, but I do know her legacy of joy, life, and spirit are alive in her daughter Anne, and her grandaughter Katie Henry. Judging from their eyes, her love and life must have been great. In fact, when Chris and I delivered this piece to Anne on our way home from Lousiville Ky today, Katie and her husband Jackson met us at the house to see thecommissioned memorial to her grandmother.

We left Anne's home blessed by her hospitality, welcome, reception, and love, all of which I am certain she expereinced from her mother Honey. Being with Anne, Katie, and Jackson was like being bathed in a shower of grace and love. A most blessed expereince in time. . .

and so, as I look back on why the Spirit of God was nudging me to say yes to this opportunity, I have a clearer picture.

Thank you Anne,

thank you Katie & Jackson,

thank you Lord for trusting me with this sacred privlege.

The Equipping Pastor. . .

I just finished reading The Equipping Pastor by R. Paul Stevens and Phil Collins.

A couple of sections were affirming and disturbing to me. . . here is a statistic that will make you think:

• the average North American person spends some 88,000 hours on the job from the first day of full-time employment until retirement. Work occupies about 40% of one's waking life.
• In contrast, a dedicated Christian is estimated to spend as few as 4,000 hours in a lifetime in church meetings and church related activities.

Given these stats, they suggest we have made our spirituality into a leisure-time, discretionary-time involvement that provides a welcome relief from the boredom of much work or a challenge to the idolatrous demands of the marketplace. However, many of us know, that once our spirituality becomes the central driving principal of our lives, it compels to find God in everything, everywhere, and everyone.

Talk to me, do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Does it challenge in any way?

Too inspiring for words. . .

I am sitting here taking in the absolute beauty of what surrounds me at Lake Junaluska. The air is cool and sky is a little overcast. The flowers are glorious and the view. . . well you can see for yourself, it is beautiful. The most prominent sounds are those of a few walkers cruising bye and the geese of course.

I am contemplating God's abundant love for all creation. I mean, how in the world can you gaze at this beauty and not feel anything other than love. You have to believe the master creator had us in mind when God created such beauty. Our friend Shelly Webb discovered this week the breath taking beauty of the Grand Canyon, our daughter Chelsea expereinced the unconditional love and beauty that the people of the Dominican Republic hold while there this summer. My friends Julie & Mike, Cheryl & Pete, Sharmon & Dan are holding in the hearts and arms the beauty of their new grandchildren. . . The miracle of creation is astounding every where you turn.

The question we need to be asking ourselves: are we being responsible stewards of the created world God so carefully loaned us as stated in Genesis?

We want our children's children, and their children, and all generations that follow to catch a glimpse of what we were able to see. . . don't we?

Preoccupied with the final destination. . .

I ran one of the Charlotte Greenway tracks with our daughter Bethanye and our son-in-love Scott Allen yesterday. We started our run together however, within a matter of 10 seconds, their running pace left me looking like I was out for a Sunday stroll in the park. It had been four days since my last run so it took me a little longer than normal to settle into my groove. The cool morning air was burning my lungs, my muscles were stiff from too many hours of sitting in the car, my running partner was not with me that day as he recovered from a calf injury, and I had maybe had one too many cups of coffee before I ran. With that said, I felt like I was struggling more than normal. . . it was more work than it was fun.

I found myself looking for every 1/4 mile marker while hoping to "just make it one more 1/4" when I realized about three-quarters of the way through my run that I had become so focused on getting to the next marker that I was totally missing the journey. The path was absolutely beautiful, tree lined to provide shade for the trail. Some of the old trees were wrapped around other trees like an iron sculptor had spent months crafting this beauty to behold. The air that was burning my lungs was cool with a low level of humidity, just what I was praying for two weeks ago. The others runners were polite even encouraging.

WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS I THINKING? I was so focused on "making it" that I was totally missing the fact that I had already made it by just "being there." I spent the last 1/3 of the run taking in the created world all around me and praying God would forgive me for taking it all for granted.

So, what did I learn from the experience yesterday you ask. . . I realized that too many days of my life are spent getting to the next thing instead of taking in all that the created world has to offer me. I was not even giving God a chance to shower me with blessings - so as a result of my spiritual V8 moment (those are Chris' words) I have vowed to the best of my ability to pay attention. . . to life, people, the created world, the needs, the joys, the laughter, the love.

Soooo, how about you? How are you doing?

Weathering the storm

When living on the coast, you anticipate the inevitability of Tropical Storms/Hurricanes during the hurricane season. (June - November) Even though Lee did not hit us directly, we were in fact recipients of rain, wind, and more rain. This was my first experience living at the coast during a this kind of a storm. We lived with three days of rain, tornado watches, and lots of wind. With that said, I cannot being to imagine how frightening living through such storms as Katrina, Hugo, and other such hurricanes would be. Fear for your family, friends, your own life, possessions, treasures, and potential loss of the known.

In the midst of that fear God is present. After the storm, God is present. In the days to follow, God is present. The calm after the storm is a beautiful thing. The sky became a beautiful blue, the air was clear, humidity was low, and peace embraced all who payed attention. It must have been how the disciples felt when on the boat with Jesus when the storm came up so quickly. The calm after the storm is a beautiful thing. One to pay attention to. One to embrace.

During the midst of life's storms, it is hard to imagine there will ever be "the calm after the storm" As it was experiencing my first coastal tropical storm, I couldn't even imagine how amazing the calm was going to be. I am learning to trust and look for God's presence in the midst of life's storms while anticipating the peace to follow. Oddly enough, peace seemed to prevail during the midst of it all.

God's imminent presence is evident in and through all things. Thanks be to God.