Wondering Presbyterian

Dear God, Hi. Me again. I made the mistake of reading the news tonight close to bedtime. I know. Sorry. You've warned me about this. I've never really been great at following directions. But here's the thing. I read the news because I'm trying to follow up on a story from earlier. A shooting. Another shooting. At a gaming event. And the first thing I wondered was, "How long until the first school shooting of the year?" There wasn't even a piece of my brain that thought "if." All my brain thought was "when." There's no motive yet for the Jacksonville shooting. And I say yet, but, God...does the motive even matter? Does it matter why this guy did what he did? Does the why even matter at all anymore? Why do people do horrible things to other people? We've been asking this question since the beginning of time, since the first cave man said the wrong thing about another cave man's cave drawing. People do horrible things to ot...

            I never thought I would actually find meaning in mowing the lawn. I don’t like mowing the lawn, but I don’t actually mind doing it. We’ve had kind of a roller coaster summer even mowing our lawn at all. We got a lawn mower for free, which was super awesome amazing. It’s a small ranch king rider. I’ve used a push mower a few times, but the rider was a new experience. I mowed the lawn for the first time when my husband was at work and I felt like a BOSS as I surveyed my accomplishment. I took a picture and immediately put it on Facebook because I didn’t even have to use YouTube to turn the mower on. I even learned how to put gas in the lawn mower by myself! (Come on, celebrate the small victories with me!)             Then my husband went to mow the lawn. And the mower didn’t turn on. Which seemed an awful lot like the universe was saying he didn’t have to mow the l...

            I’m not sure why I’ve never read anything by Anne Lamott before. I remember having to read Traveling Mercies when I was in seminary, but I don’t remember really connecting to it (probably had something to do with all the other reading I had to do in seminary for theology and biblical studies). While sorting through the books in my office last week, I came across Anne Lamott’s book Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith (River Head Books 2005). Inside the front cover was the name of my dear friend and mentor, Rev. Kristie who passed away in 2014. There was a note on the inside cover that the book was specifically recommended to her by another dear friend and mentor of ours. So, I read the book.             Actually, I didn't just read it. I devoured it.             And I wondered, “Why haven’t I read her before?” ...

You ever have an "off" day? Like, one of those days where things just kind of pile up and make you think staying in bed should have been an option? These past couple of days have been like that, and unfortunately, it's made me a little moody. If I were my parent, I'd put myself in a time out or force myself to take a nap. Sometimes, I whine at God about my moods. My prayers sometimes sound like this: "Dear God. Stop it. Amen." We get moody. It's a thing, and it's okay. Last Sunday I taught an adult ed class on the Psalms and pointed out that God is big enough to handle our moods, whatever they might be. King David certainly brought the whole gamut of emotion to God in his poetry. But sometimes I need that personal reminder that there are things I can do besides whine. Most of us need to remember that there are things we can do besides be moody. We can have a moody moment; but don't live there! These are the times when I think God sits back i...

            About twelve years ago (really? Twelve already?) I learned how to quilt. My mom quilted and she had been trying to get me into it for a while. I always swore I didn’t have the patience. Then one day I gave it a try and I realized I loved it. Choosing fabric, picking a pattern, putting it all together, and best of all, having a completed project that I made was really something special. I started quilting presents for people. Quilting has become for me more than just a hobby: it is devotional time.             I recently read the book Desiring the Kingdom by James Smith. In the book, Smith talks about how we are “liturgical animals” – we engage in so many rhythms of every day life that sometimes, we do so unconsciously. The goal of the book is to show how the whole body – not just the mind – is involved in our worship. He talks about how we’re shaped by stories ...