Back-to-School Preparations

Dear Friends in Christ -

I've been feeling a little anxious, a little edgy the past couple of days. And I've been wondering why. There's no burning reason why I should. Things are going well with my family and at the church. Our extended family is doing fine, and we've been spending some good time with friends. So what's the trouble?

As I was buzzing around yesterday doing errands, I figured it out. This is a time of transition: summer ending, the kids going back to school, a shift into the rhythms of "school year" mode. Whenever I - or any of us - go through transition, there's a lot of emotional stuff in the mix: grief over what didn't happen - things we didn't get to do, people we didn't get to see; frustration over the bumps in beginning new things; anxiety over whether or not this new season will meet our needs and be satisfying.

Yesterday, as I was running errands, I stopped by Walmart to pick up some household cleaning supplies. And suddenly I found myself in the kids' clothing section. "What am I doing here?," I thought, shaking myself, "Wynne and Ben have all the clothes they need, and we bought her new school shoes weeks ago."

And then it hit me. A huge part of the shopping and fussing and running around that happens as we prepare for "back-to-school" comes from our tension, anxiety and fear of new things. Our culture has taught us to manage those emotions by buying stuff. Kids don their brand spanking new first-day-of-school outfit as if it's armor that will shield them in the new arena they're entering. It won't. As adults we know that, but we're afraid to admit it to ourselves. We want them to have armor, for their sakes and for ours.

Want to really be prepared for the new school year? Spend a little extra one-on-one time with your kids over the next couple of days - and I'm not talking about time rushing around at the mall! Linger over dinner at home and talk about your hopes and dreams for the year. Go for a long walk together. Anything that allows you to talk and share together. (Wynne and I are going paint our toenails tonight!) Say extra bedtime prayers together.

The best way we can prepare our kids for going back to school is to live what we know to be true: the strength and safety we need to face a new day is not found in "stuff" but in God, the One who loves us and who is already making a way for us in the days and weeks and months ahead.

Faithfully,
Janet+

The gift of a poem . . .

. . . that was shared with me, I share with you. (Thank you, Mary!)

IMMANENCE By Evalyn Underhill

I come in the little things,
Saith the Lord:
Not borne on morning wings
Of majesty, but I have set My Feet
Amidst the delicate and bladed wheat
That springs triumphant in the furrowed sod.
There do I dwell, in weakness and in power;
Not broken or divided, saith our God!
In your strait garden plot I come to flower;
About your porch My Vine
Meek, fruitful, doth entwine;
Waits, at the threshold, love's appointed hour.

I come in the little things,
Saith the Lord:
Yea! on the glancing wings
Of eager birds, the softly pattering feet
Of furred and gentle beasts, I come to meet
Your hard and wayward heart. In brown eyes
That peep from out the brake, I stand confest.
On every nest
Where feathery Patience is content to brood
And leaves her pleasure for the high emprize
Of motherhood--
Where doth My Godhead rest.

I come in the little things,
Saith the Lord:
My starry wings
I do forsake,
Love's highway of humility to take:
Meekly I fit My stature to your need.
In beggar's part
About your gates I shall not cease to plead--
As man, to speak with man--
Till by such art
I shall achieve My Immemorial Plan,
Pass the low lintel of the human heart.

A Change in Plans

Dear Friends in Christ -

So . . . Ed and I are not going to Turkey this Fall. While we would have loved to go, things just didn't fall into place easily, and we took that as a sign that this is just not the time. While we will miss having this adventure with our friends Jim and Anne, we look forward to the new possibilities and opportunities that unscheduled vacation time offers. I don't know about you, but for us an unscheduled week (with my parents here to watch the kids!) is almost too amazing to believe.

The temptation, of course, is to fill up the time. Already, we can think of 10 things that we could do and 10 things that we "should" do. But Ed and I have pledged to each other to listen and wait.

Now I'm off to my retreat, a weeklong meeting with God. I'm sure He'll have some things to say, and I can't wait to hear them - and to come home and share them with you.
Please pray for me as I pray blessings upon you.
Faithfully yours,
Janet+

Angels

Dear Friends in Christ -

Whenever I come across the word "angel," one general image springs to mind: glorious, winged man-like creature, daunting. It's a picture that's an amalgam of images painted by Raphael and Fra Angelico - the kind of creature that is so beautiful that it takes your breath away, the kind of creature that emmates such power that it needs to say "Fear not!" so you don't follow your natural instincts and run in the other direction.

But today's reading from Judges (13:15-24) and the meditation in "Forward Day by Day" remind us that there's another kind of angel. This kind of angel comes so unassumingly that, at first, we may not even realize there's anything special going on. Then, often after the encounter itself, we realize that this one - this friend, child, spouse, acquainance or stranger - comes with a word or presence or gift from God.

Many of us have had encounters with these kinds of angels. God sends them to us as messengers and healers. Some of us would tend to dismiss these angels with a sigh - "what a nice kid" or a frown - "what business does that jerk have in signalling for me to slow down." But the Spirit whispers to us insistently, "look! listen! It's me."

The power and grace in these encounters multiplies when we acknowledge that it's not an accident, it's not happen-stance, it's G0d himself reaching out to us.

May you (and I!) be blessed this day with an uncommonly common encounter with an angel of the Lord.
Faithfully yours,
Janet+

Book Group "SPECIAL SESSION"

Dear Friends in Christ -
On Friday, August 22nd, I'll be hosting an impromptu Book Group meeting at the Rectory, by special request. We'll be discussing the current NYTimes bestseller "The Shack." It's a short and very intriguing book (God has a starring role!). So please pick up a copy, give it a read on the beach or in a local coffee shop over the next couple of weeks, and join us on Friday, 8/22, at 7:00 p.m.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Blessings,
Janet+

POWER-LAB Vacation Bible School is a BLAST!

Dear Friends in Christ -
I 've been so busy this week learning about what Jesus has the POWER to do that I haven't had time to give you the play by play. But please know that 60 kids, 45 teen helpers, 13 full-time adult helpers and 14 part-time adult helpers have - among other things - experienced a bit of what it's like to be blind - and healed!, made incredible crafts, played awesome games, eaten great food, lifted their hands in praise, seen great intriguing shows about science and even - are you ready for this - walked on water!
Through it all, Jesus has given us the POWER to grow together in his love - and I'm so grateful!
Blessings,
Janet+

The First Day Back

Dear Friends in Christ -

I'm ba-a-a-a-ck! And I began work today as I do every day - with my "devo" (a youth-speak abbreviation for "devotions", not a reference to the band from the late "70s!) and writing.

The first day back always feels a little breathless in the transition - turning my energy and attention from some things I love (wonderful extended rambling time with family and friends - hiking, beach, zoo) to other things I love (work at the church, volunteering, purposeful time with the kids [VBS, swim lessons, summer reading with Wynne, etc.]).

Today's readings from the Daily Office/Forward Day by Day were striking to me because they had that breathless feeling in them, too: the stories of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21) and the Resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 28:1-10) back to back. Zowwie! All the power and new-ness reflected in these stories couldn't be more fitting and energizing as we head into a new month and a new season in our parish life together.

The thing that really jumped out to me from these texts was the first phrase, "After the sabbath." The resurrection of Jesus happened after the Jewish sabbath (Saturday). After the Jews had time to pray and rest, then they were ready for Jesus to appear to them. We usually expect Jesus to show up on the Sabbath (ours is Sunday). But do we expect him to show up on Monday or Friday - in the middle of our "regular schedule"? At the tomb, Mary Mag. and "the other" Mary were given a job to do. It was as they went to do that job that Jesus appeared to them.

May we see Jesus today as we go about doing the things we're called to do.
Faithfully yours,
Janet+