May Madness

May is madness with four family birthdays (not including my own), Mother's Day celebrations, end of school parties, graduation preparations and all the other mayhem that comes with Spring.  Flower planting, throwing down more mulch, planting a garden, preparing for summer swim lessons, vacations and activities add even more craziness to this month!

And none of that addresses that the month of May in Indianapolis is all about open-wheel-racing at my house!  If you cannot find my husband at work or chained to his laptop, you will see him track side cheering for his favorite drivers and teams.  Go Izod Indy Car Series!

No wonder my madness is extreme with mowing the lawn, walking the dog and grilling!

I can't wait for June!  :)

Celebrating my Mother in Law, Lee

Unlike many wives, my mother-in-law is awesome.  Sure, we do not agree on everything, but she values me, shows her love in very demonstrative ways, and respects our differences.  Most of all my mother in law and I share a deep passion for two very special people: Eric, my husband, and Diana, my daughter.

So, it is with great affection and sadness that we are now saying goodbye.  Her 12 year battle with breast cancer (which is now in her brain) is coming to an end.  Treatments have stopped.  Hospice is providing care and compassion while funeral plans are being made. 

Truly, "soon and very soon, we are going to see the King!"

Below is one of the last photos taken of Lee Ann with her husband of 50 plus years and her youngest granddaughter.  Lee Ann in the midst of her brain radition treatments arrived at my daughter's piano just 4 weeks ago! 

This is a lovely photo of a great couple... but notice my kidlet.  How she hugs her Nana says everything about the deep and abiding bond between these two "Knight" women.

A bond that will last forever, because love never ends through the grace of Jesus the Christ! 

Thank you Lee Ann, for being an awesome mother in law!  A terrific Nana to my kidlet!  And an amazing mother to my wonderful husband! 

Thanks for all the love- your legacy will live on... I promised you the other night that I will make sure to celebrate your legacy and your memory with my daughter for years to come!

This isn't goodbye, but merely, see you on the other side!  :)

Mother's Day Prayers...

Last Sunday was a joyful holiday to celebrate with new moms and mothers of small children.  But I know of you teary-eyed grown ups for whom this was their first Mother's Day without their mothers.  And there were several women in our church who are undergoing fertility treatments who did not even come to worship this weekend.  Ladies, we pray with you.

Here is the Pastoral Prayer that Pastor Todd and I offered this weekend (thanks to my Leadership Academy colleague who shared this litany with me and then I re-shaped a bit for our worship.)  Even though Mother's Day is over... I still pray for my Mom, for my mothering, and all mothers in our community and world.

Let us pray...
"Loving God, as a mother gives life and nourishment to her children, so You watch over your people and your Church.  Hear as we pray on this mother’s day for the women among us:

To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you.

To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you.

To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you.

To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you.

To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.

To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you.

To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you.

To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you.

To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you.

To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience.

To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst.

To those who have aborted children – we remember them and you on this day.

To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children – we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be.

To those who step-parent – we walk with you on these complex paths.

To those who envisioned lavishing love on grandchildren -yet that dream is not to be, we grieve with you.

To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you.

To those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you.

And to those who care for the daily needs of their ill, aging, addicted or mentally ill mothers- we care for you. On this Mother’s Day, we walk with one another.  We acknowledge that it is by God’s grace that we are able to parent or mother at all.  In your mercy O God, hear our prayers.  Amen. "

13th Anniversary of Turning 29

Yesterday my wonderful, loving husband told the world on my Facebook page that I get better with age like fine wine!  :)  Love it!  (Isn't he a keeper, wink?!)

And yes, I did celebrate with gusto the 13th anniversary of my 29th birthday on May 13 in the year of our Lord 2013!  42 is awesome, by the way.  Friends tell me 42 is a great movie to see and now I know that I can live into this near year with great taste!

Happy Birthday!

Creek Baptisms...

My favorite moment during creek baptisms (not including when we get OUT of the freezing waters) is when I look deep into the eyes of our students. Here is a glimpse of this moment:

Sometimes the students get shy around me... so I have to lean into their downcast eyes.  Not sure when I started doing this.  Seems normal and natural for me like kissing a baby or patting the old hand of a saint. I want our baptism candidates to have a moment of intimacy with God and God's people.

What I ask them eye to eye is very simple, but profoundly moves me each time I hear the words in my voice.  And I hope my questions invite them to ponder and wonder at how GOD is in their lives.

I ask, "Do you love Jesus? No, I mean to you truly love him?"  Usually they pause for teen angst and/or mental comprehension.  Then they might nod or say yes or smile or offer an 'of course.'

And then I ask, "Do you know of His great love for you?"  Most often a casual shrug comes from the students as if this piece of information is too familiar or too normal.  But it isn't.  This is where the pulse of our faith radiates!

What those baptism candidates do not yet know... is that the following morning during our confirmation service as they kneel and after we have laid hands on them; I will look them each into the eye (AGAIN) and whisper to them (face to face, nose to nose and breath to breath), "Never forgot how much Jesus loves you!"  Sometimes I repeat it... so that they really hear the significance of those words.

And every time I cry.

The Speed at Which We Live, Move and Have Our Being

During our discussion at my last Bishop's Leadership Academy for Clergy Excellence, one of my colleague said something profound.  He said, "You know we do not necessarily have more happening in our lives.  But the reason we are all unsettled and searching for meaning is that we live at a faster speed than prevous generations.  The difference between the good ol' days and today is speed."

Speed.  Speed is the difference. 

I think my colleague is onto something of significance. 

My husband knows something about how to measure and calculate speed on open-wheel race cars.  By one degree of separation I have learned a thing or two about speed over the years as I have listened to him explain his work in timing and scoring.  We are able today, like never before, to meaure the smallest fractions of speed difference...especially on race cars.

Like racing the rate at which we live our jobs, education, parenting and marriages seems to have a different tempo than previous generations.  We drive faster cars. We search for quicker recipes to prepare for evening dinner.  Our lives hop from one activity or event to another like a grasshopper without her ADHD meds.

Which begs the question what speed is God's speed?! 

You know a race fan does tell a race car driver, "Good luck" prior to a race.  Instead the proper protocol is to say, "Godspeed!"

Fascinating.  And ironic.

So what is the tempo by which God moves?  The speed at which race cars travel, we would all agree,
is very different than the speed of a tulip blooming or a child learning a new skill on her piano.  Is God's voice the one who is slow to speak?  Or does our Divine Being, who is Eternal and Forever and thus not bound by our laws of physics and time, break into our fast pace quicker than we can imagine?

Just as technology has developed to measure speed to the smallest fraction... maybe we need to learn how to listen differently for God's Word while we are on the move. 

Ha!  Perhaps I need to download my audio Bible onto my iPhone so that I can listen and run.  Could be a good spiritual discipline?  What do you think?

Waters of Baptism...

The waters of Baptism never run dry and neither does the creek behind our church at Calvary UMC.  I am proud to say our confirmation students, with an additional 55 other folks who joined us to 'represent the church', stood creekside on Saturday night.

Our baptismal font, provided by nature, was like a tall glass of ice water... heavy on ice.  A photo in worship on Sunday showed my squealing face when my big toe touched the icy waters!  Ha ha!  But the waters were wet and did the job to wash siners clean, bring lost ones home, and set people apart for a life of service and sacrifice for others in the name of Jesus! 

The salt in the waters trickled from my tears... as I usually puddle up during baptisms... but especially as we confirm each student on Sunday morning!  This year's class may not remember it, but I ahve had the majority of them since they were born.  I have taught them stories in VBS.  They were in my 4th grade Bible Class for students and parents.  Several were in kindergarten chapel with me during their kindergarten year in our Learning Academy! 

I am so very proud of these confirmands and mostly I am honored to witness how the church makes disciples... shaping lives after Christ! 

WOW! 

This is one of the times of year when it truly ROCKS to be a pastor/shephed/leader/teacher/priest for Jesus' church.  I am deeply grateful... especially when I ask anyone in the sanctuary to stand who has been confirmed at Calvary UMC... then, I catch a glimpse of the legacy of faith that God is accomplished through my mnistry. 

You may not know this.  But someones, we pastors, get lost in the long haul that ministry is.  But on Sundays such as this... we get to see the bigger picture and my, my...the vision of God's Kingdom glorious!

 

I did it!!

I RAN and walked the Finishline 5K as a part of the 500 Festival this weekend!  WHAT!?!  Yes, I ran and walked it.  My wonderful (competitive) husband challenged me to beat the Kenyans, zombies and at least beat the time of 45 minutes.

Look below for photo evidence... my backside is a purple top with black running pants...as I cross over the line under 45 minutes!  WOO HOO!  I was so proud!

My pride grew as my husband told me how my daughter was inspired and intrigued by watching the whole event.  She turned to my husband after I crossed the line, "Dadda, I can do this!"

So, guess what?!  I think we found a new family hobby!!!

May Day!!

Our dogwood blooms while a bunny (who lived under our deck this winter) hops about the yard eating my husband's carefully groomed grass!  It is May! And twelve days until my birthday... hours before I walk the 5K at the Indy 500 Festival Mini-Marathon...and a whole month of end-of-school-busyness!  ACK!

Mostly it is May which means flowers, flowers, flowers!  I want to get dirt under my nails and get my flowers beds looking awesome and amazing.

All that is awesome expect that it does mean mulch will be arriving soon too.  Not sure if I can out do my overachieving work ethic from last year, but we will see!