Word #6 - Grain

Grain is one of those words used in scripture...often.  While it might sound dated in our modernized ears, it makes sense. The culture and community didn't have the convenience I have; in my kitchen right now there are over 9 types of grain products...and that is just what I can see from where I sit at the table...not in the cabinets. 

I have realized in the past year how much I take grain for granted.  I love bread. I love starches. I love grain.  

But I have friends who don't do the gluten thing, and in working to honor their lifestyles, my mind has been blown in regards to grain. 

I had grain boxed in as wheat.  (I know, I know, I consider myself a foodie, but really. In my brain: grain = wheat = all the delicious starchy things I eat.)  

In the past years, grains has become a more familiar word.  We now talk about whole grains.  We now eat grains that 10 years ago were the kind of grains that only "health nuts" ate.  The fact that you can buy quinoa at "regular" grocery stores (and not in the "healthy" aisle) I think is a big deal. The fact that we are empowering people with the knowledge of why whole grain vs. the other stuff matters is a big deal.  

Grain, this ancient part of creation, is at work in this world. Even now:

"While U.S. consumers prize it as a delicious “super-food,” there is growing anxiety about the impact of the quinoa boom in the Andes, and particularly Bolivia, the world’s top producing country. The media has focused primarily on the fact that global demand is driving up the price of quinoa, placing it beyond the reach of poor Bolivians—even of quinoa farmers themselves—leaving them to consume nutritionally vacuous, but cheap, refined wheat products such as bread and pasta" (You can read more here.)

In thinking on why I put this word in the jar, it's probably because of things like that article mentions above (and I am a total quinoa eater too).  I think I am so conscious of this word grain because I daily remember those who go without: those who go without the knowledge of what good grain is and why it is good, those who go without the resources or ability to make the change to good grains, those who's very own economic standing is being challenged by another's own greed, and those who don't even have a speck of grain for themselves. 

So...grain.  I love it.  I don't love how I live in abundance of grain (and more) and so many go without.  I love how people take action with grain, they package meals, make sandwiches, they educate, and they SHARE.  I do love sharing. 

So as you go through your day, think about your grain.  Think about your abundance.  Think about the role grain plays in your household, your community, your nation, and your world. You might even spend some time thinking about what grain says about this creation God has created.  

And how we can be better stewards of it all. 

Word #5 - Grow

When I think of the word "grow", I can'r help but conjure actual faces of some children who have my heart.  I moved farther away right as they were "wee" ones, so now when I see them, one of my first comments is, "oh - how you've grown!"  (See exhibit A, B, & C)  Growth in wee ones happens so quickly!  The changes sometimes even seem to sneak up on you!

Exhibit A:

J-Bird as a newbie.

J-Bird as an infant.

J-Bird as a TODDLER!!!

Exhibit B:

Meeting Miss E for the 1st time, couple hours old!

Miss E as a N

Infant Miss E.

Toddler Miss E (obviously upset for a minute).

Exhibit C:

Newbie Jack.

You might remember a story about a boy who never wants to grow up.  He lives in Never Never Land.  But, this boy Peter, with the help of his friend Wendy, has a change of heart. As I get older, I get nervous about growing.  Growing more lines around my eyes and mouth, growing gray hairs, or even growing into bigger pant sizes!  Sometimes I wouldn't mind a Never Never Land where I could be ignorant to the growth.

But growing, in all aspects, is part of God's creation.  Everything on this earth grows.  Everything on this earth, changes.  Even majestic mountains shift and groan in the earth.  

Some things grow fast, some things grow slow. 

Growing can be seen as good: a child coming of age or development of talents.  

Growing can be seen as bad: the growing of a cancerous tumor or growing of weeds in a award winning garden.  

I've been steeped in the book of Genesis this week in preparation for a sermon and find myself thinking of Abram.  (His name even grows - he becomes Abraham!) Abram is concerned not only with his personal growth but the growth of his name, his legacy, his family.  He sees "growing" literally as having heirs. As someone who has no heirs at this time in my own life, I pause and reflect on the ways I hope to grow in my life. Growing in wisdom wouldn't be a bad idea, nor would some growth in my bank account.  But, I wouldn't trade "growth" of better friends or a loving community for anything in the world.  

I do live with a motto that kind of sums up how I feel about the word "grow". I believe that every day there is something I can learn, something that I can grow from. Whether it is a new word or a life lesson or a personal revelation, I hope to continue growing.  Even if it is in those lines around my eyes and mouth, after all, aren't they called "laugh lines"?

So, keep growing. And I will continue to be that Aunt who always says to my nephews and nieces, "my - how you've grown!"  And I will continue to embrace how part of God's beloved creation is growth. 

Word #4 - Loss

I am at a loss...

I am at a loss when I don't have an answer for the question.

I am at a loss when I wear the shoes I always fall in again...and fall. 

I am at a loss when the story doesn't make sense.

I am at a loss when I realize I've wasted an hour on TV I really don't care about.

I am at a loss when I see colors I've never even imagined exist right outside my window in fall.  

I am at a loss when the bad guys win.

I am at a loss when the music seems to move me to my very core.

I am at a loss when I know children go to bed hungry every night.

I am at a loss when new life is found in old scripture.

I am at a loss...

Word #3 - Control

Ok.

 For real. 

What in the world was I thinking when I threw these words in the jar?!?!!? 

In a weak moment, I almost threw this word back into the jar, then, heaving a heavy sigh, decided that was too “controlling”. 

This is one of my own personal “trouble” words.  Control and I have a love/hate relationship, and it has been this way for quite a while. 

After drawing it earlier today, I’ve spent some time thinking about how I would approach it today.  I’m not exactly how sure my prompt works with this word. 

“Beauty in” control. 

Along my commute to babysitting I decided to observe control in action.  (Or, lack of control to be more precise.) 

Control:

•          My driving skills
•          Ability to eat only 4 crackers (not the whole sleeve)
•          Changing of the radio station at my leisure
•          Getting child to wear shoes for majority of the time spent outdoors
•          My walking/running/breathing
•          How clean (or messy) my room is
•          Ability to get assignments and readings done for class

Out Of Control:

•          A broken down car in a turn only lane onto the highway
•          RED LIGHTS
•          Other drivers
•          Conversations in class…
•          The weather
•          Toddlers sneaking crackers
•          Geese attacking said toddlers with crackers

These are just a few examples of “control” at work in the world.  

I can’t help but think of the toddlers I get to watch when it comes to control.  They are SO in the groove of learning control right now, from saying “no” to things they don’t want to one of the biggest control issues in the world: potty training.  If there is beauty to be found in this idea of control, I am so thankful for the beauty of sticker charts and marshmallows that encourage wee ones to learn how to control their bodies.

Potty humor aside, control can be destructive or instructive. 

 I think of the wise college chaplain who encouraged me to write down all the questions that would pop in my head while in class or meetings down in a journal, and then after reflecting on them, ask.  That has been a monumental tool for me in controlling my impulses. I also now write out my shopping list before I go to the store; in hopes I will not make impulsive purchases.

Destructive examples of control can be found in eating disorders or other various forms of addictions.

I think the ultimate point for me:

 being in control is finding the balance.  

It is not good to eat much honey,

    or to seek honor on top of honor.

 Like a city breached, without walls,

    is one who lacks self-control.  –Proverbs 25:27-28

OUT OF CONTROL: Dancing with our crackers near the geese.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. – Galatians 5:22-24

Word #2: Context

I knew it would come up, just not so soon.

It is as if every word I'm not feeling so willing to dwell upon comes to my finger tips!  

So...context...

I semi-jokingly put this word in just because I sometimes feel here in seminary, "Jesus" isn't the right answer but "context" is. 

con·text

  [kon-tekst]

noun

1.

the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect: 

2.

the set of circumstances or facts that surround 

a particular event, situation, etc.

I honestly hadn't given much thought to context before coming to CTS  but it has been such a wonderful edition to my vocabulary and my thinking process.  My inclusion of context allows me pay more attention to the details that surround me.  All those English classes in undergrad should have prepared me for this context concept, but I never really thought about applying context to scripture.  (Silly, I know.)

 Beyond just physical and visual circumstances, thinking contextually allows for me a whole new reading of scripture.  

The beauty in context allows me to have a greater appreciation for the languages of Greek and Hebrew I've learned as I read scripture. 

The beauty in context allows me to get off my high horse every once in awhile and read through the eyes of a child or youth.

The beauty in context is the ability for the spirit to be at work the the words of God.  

I could go on and on, but I'm going to stop and be selfish and watch some Downton Abbey. 

But, 

I'm so glad I've had some wise professors, mentors, and parents in my life who have encouraged me to keep an open mind and heart to context. 

Word #1: Saved

Of all the words I knew were in the jar and words I didn't want early on, this one takes the cake. 

Maybe because "saved" makes me think of "salvation" which is one of those Christian terms that likes to be thrown around often.

 Especially if you live in the Bible Belt. 

And go to your grandparent's mega-Baptist church as a kid where they ask you when you were "saved". 

And you have no idea what in the world they are talking about. 

And then you feel ostracized from the group of THIRD graders the rest of the week while at camp.

(Not that that ever happened to me...)

But to answer the prompt: 

beauty in...

...saved...

...salvation...

...being safe...

...saving...

I'm not sure where to even begin.  I guess one thought is that there is something reassuring in being saved. And saving, in this context, doesn't have to be this 

HUGETHEOLOGICALMYSTERYDEBATE 

for us.  

Maybe you are saved, literally, by someone grabbing your arm before you walk into a street of cars because you were looking at your cell phone wishing that one text you've been waiting on would just come. 

That's beautiful; you're alive.

This web page I'm on even gives me the option for being saved! 

Fancy that.

That's beautiful; there's no chance for these words to be lost while my internet is at work.

Or maybe you have saved someone else; you've politely pointed out that their life may be going in a direction that doesn't bode well and putting down the bottle or ending that unhealthy relationship may indeed be a decent idea. 

That's beautiful; you've looked beyond yourself and helped someone else.  And maybe there might even be a memoir or Lifetime movie in the works. Or at least a new lease on life. 

For whatever you are saved from, or saving someone from, I guess as a seminarian, I can't help but think about the salvation aspect of "saved".  Especially in this season of Lent. 

There is this verse that comes to mind...from Ephesians 2:8

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God

There is most definitely beauty in that gift from God. The keyword for me there: GIFT.  

It's free. As Ephesians says, it's because our God is "rich in mercy".

So what do you think about "saved"?

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us ⁵ even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— ⁹ not the result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

- Ephesians 2:4-9

Lent 2013...a few days late

I'm a few days behind in my Lenten plan. 

Whoops.

I haven't given anything up.  

I'm not re-starting my resolutions, which now that I think of, I never wrote down.

I'm not sacrificing much during the next forty days so that I can feel "closer to God" but instead have decided to take on something. 

It is a discipline of sort and something I've been thinking about even before these forty days were upon us.

If you haven't noticed, I am a bit behind on my blogging.  I guess you can't be behind if you haven't started, but you get the picture.

I've noticed my writing on my blog has been a bit of a battle; I set out with all these expectations and rules that I feel I need to follow.  The writing seems to be a production, and then there is the need to do this, then that, then  this thing again...

It has become too much of a chore for me because I am a bit too controlling with it.  Instead of just an online reflection of what's going on in my world, I feel the need to produce this monumental piece of literature. (And let's be honest, I'm no Dickens or Bronte in the works...)

I've always loved to write, just like I've loved to sing.  It has been an organic part of my reflection process and allowed for personal growth I never imagined.  

So, my Lenten practice is working on getting back to that form of writing. 

I'm hoping to let go of my reins and let the spirit be at work. 

I'm hoping to "let go" a bit more and "let God".  

So, there's the jar full of over 40 words.

And each day, maybe twice a day if I've missed one, I'll pull a word and follow the prompt.

I'm going with "beauty in..." as my prompt.

  It struck me during my January class how much beauty was present even in the ugly things we were seeing at work in our world.

The words have come from more than just myself, so we will see what happens.

I'm hoping as I sit down to write in regards to my word to break myself of the "rules" I've imagined I need to follow.  

There may be pictures, there may not be.  

And I will work on being ok with that.  

It might only be a paragraph or maybe multiple paragraphs.

And if all else fails, there is always this.