A Sparrow or a Chicken?(The Pace of the Journey: Part II)

Friday, for the first time in a while, I was able to do my job the way I want to be able to do it instead of just getting it done.  There's a difference when you are able to approach your work as a sparrow, who is worth more than many pennies, or a chicken, who is running around with her head cut off.  (Yes...DO take a moment to visualize....)

Friday, I got a hug from a bride to be because I took care of two details: setting up tables, and setting up chairs for a little "after party" in our fellowship hall (Yes...we are that kind of church.)   And I suggested that round table cloths are available in many colours at Dollarama.  I had time to listen that day.   I was at church washing the windows because it mattered to me that they should be clean.

And instead of putting the usual little grass pots on the table, I got the bright pink geraniums out of the sanctuary instead.   I made a little substitution....and it was such fun to add that little surprise.  Taking time and adding little somethings felt like I was singing "my song" the way I was created to sing it. 

I'm surprised, delighted and grateful that I am feeling more like a sparrow again.  

Semantics

Gardening. 

Why do people call it that!

Personally, I believe that pulling green things out of the earth is weeding.  Yesterday I was literally sitting IN the garden wearing my new gardening gloves... but I was weeding.   Not gardening. 

:)

The Journey: An Experiment in Solitude During Lent...

It's a good thing to try something new once in a while.  I'm not sure how to write about this thing because I've always felt funny when people, who give something up for Lent, announce it to the whole world.   But as I sit to write I realize that you are not the whole world.  You are the select few privy to these inner thoughts.  It's not about me, but inevitably when you write from your own perspective....it is.  I just need to wrestle with this.  

I'll let you in on how the journey has been going without a "sound track".  I "gave up" music during Lent.  I was interested to see if I would hear the Song without the music.  It's such a huge part of my "everyday".

Earlier this year I heard a speaker, Brett Ullman, speak on "Youth and Culture".  He encouraged parents to "practice" their faith and be visible about how we cultivate, nourish and nurture our personal relationship with God.  It's a relationship.  You have to invest in it, and you should let your kids see you pray, read your Bible and practice "quiet" time...the spiritual discipline of solitude.   If they don't see you engage in those activities, you're probably not really modelling those behaviours...that was food for my thoughts. 

On Ash Wednesday, I attended an ecumenical service during which the pastor explained the practice of fasting, (aka "giving something up for Lent").  The purpose of fasting is to focus on your relationship with God in the absence of this practice.

Music is a very big part of who I am.  I listen to music almost all the time and almost all of it CCM.  (...but not your momma's CCM...)  It encourages me daily in my walk with God and gives words to my worship.  It gives words to what my heart and my soul cannot express.   And so fasting from this practice would be a real departure.   An adventure.  A new way to walk.    I was eager to try this "new" thing not as a novelty but with a desire to grow.  

Walk with me.

I discovered a few things about my God, my song, my people and myself...