breath
baby's breath
not the tiny white flower
the breath of an infant that smells so sweet
not sweet
unique,
human life
breath
as in breathing deeply
passionate breath
they say those are the moments that take your breath away,
those seconds of sighing, panting, breathing the breath of another
human
life
breath
labored breath
the breath of a life lived fully
coming to its rest
emptying oneself of breath
no breath
death.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The March Pond
Standing on solid ground
ice firm beneath my feet.
soft shimmering sheet of snow sprinkled lightly
here
on the shady side of the March pond.
Tall naked trees on either side
branches lifted in praise.
Sun at my back
birds singing sweetly
traacks of the wild ones who walked before me.
Dare I follow them?
Step lightly sister, slow and steady, cautiously.
This is fragile ground...sacred ground.
Why so tempted to run?
It is good to be here on solid ground.
Yet, the deep calls.
I find my feet walking
stepping out
onto the sunny side.
See how the snow is melting around you?
small pools of water just ahead.
Why is the water so seductive?
Have you forgotten?
You were born to swim.
ice firm beneath my feet.
soft shimmering sheet of snow sprinkled lightly
here
on the shady side of the March pond.
Tall naked trees on either side
branches lifted in praise.
Sun at my back
birds singing sweetly
traacks of the wild ones who walked before me.
Dare I follow them?
Step lightly sister, slow and steady, cautiously.
This is fragile ground...sacred ground.
Why so tempted to run?
It is good to be here on solid ground.
Yet, the deep calls.
I find my feet walking
stepping out
onto the sunny side.
See how the snow is melting around you?
small pools of water just ahead.
Why is the water so seductive?
Have you forgotten?
You were born to swim.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Spirit Talk
Today is a beautiful day with a gentle cool breeze. How refreshing! I joyfully opened the windows of our home today so that we can breathe deeply of the fresh air, listen to the birds sing, and pretend as though fall has already arrived. The sound and feel of a gentle breeze or a strong wind reminds me of the Spirit.
Our scriptures tell us that the Spirit of God has been moving in the world since the beginning of time and that same spirit continues to move in our world today. The Spirit seems to be a mystery to us, although we have an abundance of Spirit stories in our scripture and tradition. Jesus spoke often about the Spirit, breathing the Spirit upon his followers, giving them peace and comfort. How does the Spirit speak to you? What do you feel, see, smell, hear, and taste when the Spirit is present? Do you have questions about the Spirit? Would you like to learn more about the Spirit? Would you like to feel comfortable talking about your spiritual experiences with people you trust?
As with most things in life, we have no hard and fast, firm answers or rules about how the Spirit of God acts in the world and in our lives, but we can learn from one another, scripture, tradition, and experience. We can become a Spirit filled church by becoming Spirit filled people. Does this mean that we will radically change our worship style, begin speaking in tongues of fire, reject reason and dumb down our theology or intellect? Absolutely not! Scripture tells us that the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. Surely we could all use a little more of those things? Acts 2 paints a picture for us of a Spirit filled church. The Spirit filled church is a community of people who forgive one another. The Spirit filled church is a church where people are welcomed into the community with open arms, regardless of their status, class, race, or gender. According to Acts 2, the Spirit filled church is a community of people who spend much together. They break bread together, share their possessions, praise God, enjoy the goodwill of all the people, and they follow in the teachings of Jesus. A church that is Spirit filled is a church that is growing; growing in Spirit, theology, outreach, compassion and number.
This fall I will be offering a variety of experiences so we can grow in Spirit. You will have an opportunity to attend a workshop on Spirit, be part of group meditations, join a prayer group, study Spirit scriptures, hear personal stories, and ask questions pertaining to the Spirit. I hope you will choose to become involved in some of these activities, so your life and our ministry will be filled with the Spirit of Christ.
May we be open to the beauty, joy and mystery of the Spirit as we journey together in the days ahead.
Joy and peace of Christ,
Pastor Deb
Our scriptures tell us that the Spirit of God has been moving in the world since the beginning of time and that same spirit continues to move in our world today. The Spirit seems to be a mystery to us, although we have an abundance of Spirit stories in our scripture and tradition. Jesus spoke often about the Spirit, breathing the Spirit upon his followers, giving them peace and comfort. How does the Spirit speak to you? What do you feel, see, smell, hear, and taste when the Spirit is present? Do you have questions about the Spirit? Would you like to learn more about the Spirit? Would you like to feel comfortable talking about your spiritual experiences with people you trust?
As with most things in life, we have no hard and fast, firm answers or rules about how the Spirit of God acts in the world and in our lives, but we can learn from one another, scripture, tradition, and experience. We can become a Spirit filled church by becoming Spirit filled people. Does this mean that we will radically change our worship style, begin speaking in tongues of fire, reject reason and dumb down our theology or intellect? Absolutely not! Scripture tells us that the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. Surely we could all use a little more of those things? Acts 2 paints a picture for us of a Spirit filled church. The Spirit filled church is a community of people who forgive one another. The Spirit filled church is a church where people are welcomed into the community with open arms, regardless of their status, class, race, or gender. According to Acts 2, the Spirit filled church is a community of people who spend much together. They break bread together, share their possessions, praise God, enjoy the goodwill of all the people, and they follow in the teachings of Jesus. A church that is Spirit filled is a church that is growing; growing in Spirit, theology, outreach, compassion and number.
This fall I will be offering a variety of experiences so we can grow in Spirit. You will have an opportunity to attend a workshop on Spirit, be part of group meditations, join a prayer group, study Spirit scriptures, hear personal stories, and ask questions pertaining to the Spirit. I hope you will choose to become involved in some of these activities, so your life and our ministry will be filled with the Spirit of Christ.
May we be open to the beauty, joy and mystery of the Spirit as we journey together in the days ahead.
Joy and peace of Christ,
Pastor Deb
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Love Sweet Love
In February we find hearts, flowers, candy, cupid, valentines, and of course, Love, sweet love. Our scriptures have much to say about love. "Love one another." "Love your enemies." "God is love." "Love those who persecute you." "Love is patient and kind, it is not envious..."
Remember the song, "What the world needs now, is love sweet love?" Perhaps what the world needs now is for those of us who call ourselves Christians to seek the wisdom of Jesus, concerning love.? Most of us would prefer to stick with our romantic love and family love over Jesus' radical love. Jesus was the living expression of Divine love. His love brought healing and welcome to the outcast and the oppressed. Jesus' love was extended to those most of us would find difficult to love. His love forgave time and time again. Jesus loved God with his heart, soul, and mind by loving his neighbor as himself. Jesus loved God by loving his enemies.
How will we love God in the month of love? Do we dare to love God by loving those difficult to embrace? Can we love our neighbor (or the estranged family member) by forgiving and then forgiving again? Rev. Senior Pulliam says this about love. "There is nothing in nature like love. Love is divine only and difficult always. If you think it is easy you are a fool. If you think it is natural you are blind. It is a learned application without reason or motive except that it is God."
What the world needs now is for Christians to love like the one they claim to follow.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Happy New Year!
Before leaping into a new year perhaps we should do a little remembering. The church is big on remembering. The act of remembering can be paralyzing if we choose to live in the past or it can empower us to live boldly in the future. Remembering can be an opportunity to learn from the good and the bad gone by. Our faith ancestors used the act of remembering to inspire them and give them courage in the days ahead. They remembered the many times God moved in their lives, passing on those stories of hope to the next generation. But their remembering didn't keep them from moving forward into new adventures. The Israelites didn't stay in the desert. Oh, they wandered around for a while, but eventually they moved on to the promised land where God blessed them with new stories and experiences. May our remembering of the past year be a time of giving thanks and sharing stories; a time of laughter and tears, a time of preparing for the future. Perhaps you and your family would like to come up with your own TOP 10 LIST for 2009 before moving bravely into the hope filled future.
DEB'S TOP 10 for 2009
1. Letting go so my daughter could move into a life of healing and growth.
2. A Spirit and joy filled vacation to Puerto Rico
3. Bittersweet good-bye gatherings with Missouri Friends
4. The New Beginning in Jefferson Iowa
5. Camron's Winning Football Season and awesome adjustment to Jefferson
6. Thanksgiving with Family in our new home.
7. Making New Friends
8. Good Health
9. The Raccoon River Valley Bike Trail (it is awesome!)
10. My Dad's Retirement Celebration in Missouri
I give thanks for all these things and for those that did not make the list, for it is from our past that we grow into the future.
Happy New Year!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
When the Alleluias Fade (for my beautiful daughter)
When the Alleluias fade, when the naked lilies stand unashamed without a bloom,
You are there.
When the dark empty tomb of despair calls "come back come back, find comfort here",
You, the Holy One, are there.
When the soft white linen cloth of self pity lures me to lie and rest in its cool cover,
You are there.
When the sound of the stone, once rolled away, rings in my ears as it looms behind me
threatening to trap me in that cold cave again,
You, Voice of Wisdom, are there.
When I need to cry the Friday cry, "Why, why my God have you forsaken me?"
You are there.
When time seems to travel backwards carrying the same old story,
the same worn out weary story of pain and suffering;
when progress is only temporary and relapse begins to feel like a long lost friend
You are there.
When the thorny crown of shame cuts deep into the mind
You are there.
When the wounds, barely healed, burst open by the burning pain of dashed hopes,
disappointment, doubt, lies, lies, and more lies
You are there.
When the disease of addiction, the evil one, the name that I dare not speak for fear of empowering it, rears its ugly head, teasing, taunting with the question "Who are you really?"
You are there.
When my tongue bleeds from biting back the words that would change nothing anyway,
when I stand in silence with my accusers, the ones who will never understand,
(How could they? They haven't seen what we've seen, been where we've been, walked our walk, nor tasted our tears)...still You are there.
When those once close feel far away, when they hide in fear, deny what they know to be true of me and true of You,
still You are there.
When I taste your Bread and know that my body is about to be broken again,
You are there with your nourishing words, "taste, eat, I am here for you."
When I drink the fruit of forgiveness, when the sweet wine of grace moistens my parched lips,
I give thanks that You are there.
I offer her the cup, filled not with the drink of temptation, but with the bittersweet sip of the promise. "Drink this cup, this cup of the covenant, the new promise of forgiveness.
It is, you are, the blood of my blood and flesh of my flesh."
Will she take it?
Whether she drinks of this cup or the other...You will be there.
You are there, no, no, You are HERE!
You are here.
You are here.
by Debbie Griffin, a mother who continues to hope for her daughter's wholeness.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The "Afterlife"
Easter is over. The chocolate bunnies are gone, or mostly gone. The colored eggs are either devoured or beginning to smell bad. The green and pink plastic grass has mysteriously scattered itself in the strangest places and our pleasantly full sanctuaries are likely to be sparsely populated again soon. Easter Sunday is over and now we live in the "after-Easter-life". How do we live in this "afterlife"? Has anything changed because of our Easter experience? Do we just return to life as usual? If so, then is it any wonder that our sanctuaries return to their pre-Easter state, with the same faithful few sitting in their same pews?
It is true that Easter Sunday has past, but the church calendar for Easter has only begun. The church celebrates 50 days of Easter, leading up to Pentecost. For 50 days we are to experience the joy of Easter and the surprise of resurrection. We are called to transform our lives, to burst forth from our winter cocoons into our butterfly days of spring. Sounds beautiful doesn't it? So why do we find ourselves like those early disciples, locked up in the same old routine, hiding behind the comfort of our church doors, afraid to wander out into unchartered territory, into new ministry opportunities? Why hasn't anything changed? I have my hypotheses, but before I share them, I would like to hear your thoughts. Has Easter changed you, your life, your church in any small way? If not, why?
It is true that Easter Sunday has past, but the church calendar for Easter has only begun. The church celebrates 50 days of Easter, leading up to Pentecost. For 50 days we are to experience the joy of Easter and the surprise of resurrection. We are called to transform our lives, to burst forth from our winter cocoons into our butterfly days of spring. Sounds beautiful doesn't it? So why do we find ourselves like those early disciples, locked up in the same old routine, hiding behind the comfort of our church doors, afraid to wander out into unchartered territory, into new ministry opportunities? Why hasn't anything changed? I have my hypotheses, but before I share them, I would like to hear your thoughts. Has Easter changed you, your life, your church in any small way? If not, why?
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