Reflections on God

Suit up and Show up

Posted on by joesuperdad

Totally not how I look, because I dress much more stylish and run much faster.

Yesterday morning, for the 115th day in a row, I laced up my running shoes and dashed (in my own head) out the door for my routine morning run.  Walking down the driveway, I did my hamstring stretches, reached the road and started running.  As I ran down my street, I began my run how I always do – with the prayer “Lord, I give you this run, I give you this morning, I give you this day.  Lord, I give you my heart.”

And then I don’t remember anything else.  I mean, nothing, except having a sub-par run.  It’s like it didn’t happen, except I know it did.

Generally, focus is something I’m good at while I run.  It’s what keeps me running – on days that I can’t focus, I know I have a lousy run in front of me – and I can usually tell pretty quickly.  But usually I can still work through some things on my mind and on my heart – be they family related, work related, friend related, etc.  Running is my time for communing with my Creator, with the depths of myself, and with attempting to not get run over.  Sometimes that order gets messed up. Read More

Hope Floats

Posted on by ymkbird

“Always be prepared to give a reason for your hope.” 1 Peter 3:15

I recently found myself in a conversation with a friend who is struggling with depression and feeling overwhelmed. At work, with his family, in his marriage, keeping up at home…he has been sinking under the weight of all of his struggles and responsibilities. At one point in the conversation I encouraged him to have hope that things were going to be okay.

He got instantly angry.

“What do you mean? How do you know it’s going to be ok? Are you going to get me a new job? Can you fix the broken relationships in my life? I cannot just ignore the problems and hope they’ll just go away. You may live your life that way, but I can’t function like that.”

In that moment, I had an opportunity to share the reason for my hope…to explain how my faith gives me patience to wait for God’s timing in my life. To witness to the ultimate hope in Christ and the promise of eternal life that keeps me going through the hard times. To connect with the Paschal Mystery of the life, death and resurrection of Christ that we just celebrated a few weeks ago. To show him how my Christian faith has totally transformed my life.

But I didn’t do any of those things.

Read More

Tulip Capital of the World

Posted on by chriskmn

Red Tulips

The often-disputed tulip capital of the world are the Keukenhof Gardens (“kitchen gardens”) situated near Lisse, Netherlands.  The good people of Holland, Michigan hold the title of tulip capital of the USA, but since their town is named after the very country containing Keukenhof, I think it is safe for me to declare once and for all the beautiful Keukenhof Gardens as #1 in tulips. Now you know, whether you wanted to or not.

I bring all this up because on my way into church today I walked past a beautiful bed of multi-colored tulips in full blossom.  As far as I am concerned the front flowerbed at Holy Name of Jesus is as beautiful as anything Keukenhof or Holland, Michigan has to offer.  Long stemmed and big, beautiful blossoms, these flowers were worthy of note.  I couldn’t help but stop and smell the..err..tulips.

I was most struck by the fact that these chromatic creations were all leaning towards the newly risen sun.  Each flower straining and pushing to get closer to that ball of exploding gas which rains radiation, light, and heat down upon our green globe.  I’m no botanical genius, but I guessed this had something to do with photosynthesis and the plants seeking to expose their leaves to the most sunlight possible, but I didn’t really know.

So, I looked it up on the magical interwebs.  The process is called Heliotropism which is how we describe plants turning to face the sun.  According the one website I read, plants follow the sun for better photosynthesis and the warmer flowers may attract more pollinating insects.  What is interesting is that they do this all day long.  These flowering plants will slowly turn their blossoms and leaves all day so as to get the best light as the sun moves across our sky (sorry Copernicus – I meant to say “we rotate while the sun stays still.”).

As Christians we need to be more like Tulips.

No seriously, not photoshopped - Fields of real tulips.

We should be more like these petalled posies not by being heliotropic but by being Christotropic.  I mean this in two ways:

  1. Yearning for the sun: When the sun rises small “motor” cells in the base of the plant enlarge with water in just a certain way to turn and push the tulips to face and ultimately reach for the sun. We need to strain and lean into our God.  We must, from our very base, turn our whole posture to face and take in as much of God’s light as we possibly can.  With our whole being, physically as well as spiritually, we need to turn our life towards Christ.  Christ needs to be the center of all that we do.  We should do this in such a way that others notice.  When I saw the flowers reaching for the sun, I naturally turned my face to the rising sun as well.
  2. From the rising to the setting of the sun: These flowers, and sunflowers like them, not only strain for God at the first moments of sunlight in the morning, but all day long they turn so as to face the heavenly rays of light.  Us too must give each moment, from the rising of the sun to the setting, to God.  Throughout our day, we must learn to turn our attention to God.  Whether we are at school, work, or play, whatever we are doing, we must continuously be attentive to God. As Psalm 113 says, “From the rising of the sun to its setting let the name of the Lord be praised.”

So next time you see some beautiful flowers, let those simple plants remind you to be Christotropic everyday, all day.

Finding God on Pinterest

Posted on by RRMM

Image

Actually, I HAVE made quite a few of the recipes that I have pinned!

Okay, I’ll admit it.  I love Pinterest.  And, the fact that you know exactly what “Pinterest” is means it has become a culture and internet phenomenon.  I have to give credit to my youngest sister.  She told me about this “website that’s basically virtual bulletin boards” almost a year ago.  It wasn’t a thing then.  It was just a humble little site used to store bookmarked links.  I got a Pinterest board in the fall of last year and it has since exploded like crazy.

I know a lot of people, mostly men, I would guess, don’t get the fascination with it.  Why do people (mostly women) want to spend all day looking at recipes, art projects, home ideas/decorations, clothing, child-rearing ideas, etc.?  How could one possibly spend hours looking at and “pinning” pictures and links, 90% of which we’ll never use? Read More

Jesus Beat the Devil with a Big Ugly Stick

Posted on by ymkbird

This middle part of Lent is always the hardest for me.  The strong convictions with which I started on Ash Wednesday have begun to wane.  The new routine of prayer that I’ve tried to establish has been interrupted and intruded upon by my family, my work and my life; I’ve slipped up at least once in my fasting.  I start to wonder if it’s worth it—whether or not I should stick with the resolutions I made at the beginning of the season.  I feel guilty for the ways in which I’ve failed to answer the call to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and I try to convince myself that it’s okay.  After all, I’m a good person, I’m loving to my family (most of the time), I give what I can when I remember to, and I’ve already prayed more than most other people have.

The Scripture reading for today (Thursday for the 3rd Week of Lent) seems perfectly tailored for my Lenten halftime slump.  It’s a reminder of an uncomfortable reality—one that is disturbing for many of us today.

We are often not comfortable with talk about demons or the devil.  Many Catholics believe that the devil is a sort of cosmic balancing power or a theoretical being.  The devil has the advantage over us in that he is an invisible powerful spirit.  One of his greatest tricks is convincing so many of us that he doesn’t even exist, a truly clever tactic. The incident with the demon in today’s gospel prompts a debate between Jesus and the crowd that discusses the forces of evil with disturbing levels of detail: naming demons and even discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the devil’s plan of attack against humanity.

Today’s gospel reading helps me acknowledge where my fading desire and conviction at this point in the Lenten season come from.  Jesus’ reminder that the devil and his demons are very real beings that pose a very real threat help me to recognize my temptations to laziness, de-motivation, and lowering of standards for what they are: attacks from evil against the strides toward holiness that my Lenten resolutions are gaining.  The devil is real—and he certainly does not want me to unite myself with the passion and suffering of the Cross, to improve my relationship with God through increased prayer, to weed out my tendencies toward sin through fasting, or to magnify God’s Love in almsgiving.

I know who is going to win this fight...but what about when Jesus tags me in?

The gospel for today also brings me comfort with Jesus’ reminder that he is stronger than the devil and that if I stand with him, I can overcome any attack.  So, instead of lowering my standards and accepting less, I’m going to try to step up my prayer an extra notch during this time of weakness and ask Christ who still has power over demons (and his angels) to help me be strong in the face of temptation so that I can continue to grow in holiness this Lent.

How well have you been living your Lenten commitment?  In what ways have you been tempted to abandon or modify the challenges you set at the beginning of Lent?  How do you recognize the attack of demons, the devil, or evil in your journey to holiness?

Good coffee won’t save your soul – Part 2

Posted on by chriskmn

Why are we so infatuated with coffee or preaching or music, if it isn’t the most important thing?  Are we that shallow? Why do we lose the point in the midst of all the things trying to make the point?CoffeWorship

We know when we have a good cup of coffee.

Things like coffee can be judged and measured. We know when we have heard a good homily because we have an emotional or intellectual reaction. We know when the music works for us because our toe taps, and we are tempted, dare I say it, to sing and pray along.  We know when we walk into a church, look up into the mosaic covered dome and utter “Oh my God” (not at all in vain) in reaction the undeniable beauty before our eyes.

We want to know something has happened when we go to Church. We want to be able to observe or even measure the value we received.  If Church is going to be worth our time, we want to know that it worked.  Not only do we want Church to be actually good for us, we want to be aware, to know, that it was good.

Thus, we put more importance on good music, entertaining preaching (did I laugh?), and coffee because when those things are good, we know we got something out of Mass.  When those things aren’t good we often walk out of Mass and don’t know that we were affected.  We may even think nothing has happened. Read More

Yeah, but…

Posted on by ymkbird

When I was in high school, my parents used to refer to me as “the yeah buts girl.”  My husband will tell you that if you that I am a master of excuses (I prefer to call them “reasons”) and always seem to manage to get out of doing things I don’t want to do.  My friends will tell you that I my favorite word is “actually” as in:

No matter how you pronounce it - it's sweet creamy chocolatey heaven in a jar!

Friend:  Have you ever experienced the hazelnut and chocolate deliciousness that is Nutella?

Me:  Actually, it’s pronounced New-tella.

I like to argue and debate.  I enjoy the challenge of using reason and logic to manipulate my way out of tasks I don’t enjoy or into projects that pique my interest.

I haven’t decided yet if it is fortunate or unfortunate that my son has inherited my affinity for debate.  He’s only 7, but is quickly honing is manipulation skills. Here’s a taste of a typical scenario:

Vinny, I need you to go clean up the toy room.

Awww…Mom, do I have to clean it up all by myself?  I wasn’t the only one to make the mess.  It would be fairer if you had Elizabeth come help me since most of it is her mess.

No, Elizabeth is doing something else for me right now, I want you to go clean up the toy room.

How about if I just clean up half of the mess and then when she’s done she can clean up the other half?

Vinny, I just want you to go down and start cleaning.  Don’t worry about what your sister is doing, just get it done.

Can I clean for just 15 minutes?

No, you’ll clean until it’s done.

But what about Elizabeth?  What about her toys?

Vinny (said in the “mom tone” that warns, “I’m starting to lose my patience”).  Go. Down. And. Clean. Up. The. Toy. Room.

Can I get a drink first?

(By this point, I’m almost ready to yell.) No. Now!

When he first started working in his debate skills, I’d let it slide.  After all, given my track record I thought it would only be fair to give him his chance to try to change my mind.  It quickly got to the point, though, that I would dread hearing the phrase “how about…” come out of his mouth every time I asked him to do something.  My husband and I agreed to change tactics and now, whenever we hear him gearing up for an argument we gently remind him that he needs to be obedient. Now the scenario sounds more like this: Read More

We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

Posted on by RRMM

Believe it or not, Alabama (along with much of the Southeast) is kind of a 2nd Tornado Alley to places like Oklahoma and Kansas.  I’ve dealt with the reality of severe and very scary weather for the entirety of my life.  I know well the sounds of a tornado siren and I have a working knowledge of what kind of space I should go to if I am not at home when  those sirens go off.

Yup, you're deep in the heart of Dixie!

In the past several years, these tornadoes seem to have gotten worse and worse.  Last spring, in fact, a gigantic tornado tore through a town about 40 miles away from my house, headed in our direction, pushed north, and ripped a line across north-central Alabama instead.  Many people I know personally were affected by this life-changing storm – people lost their entire homes, many people died, and security was shattered.

The reality of natural disasters like tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, etc. force me to contemplate and accept the reality of the power of God.  Because, when it comes to these types of events, there’s really nothing anyone can do to control or stop them.

Sure, it’s important for people to avoid making stupid decisions that would put them in imminent danger (like driving TOWARDS a tornado, which people actually do).  We have to be informed and we have to make proper choices in order to do our best to be safe.

But, it’s in the course of these disasters unfolding that I stand in awe of the hand (or, maybe fist) of our Almighty God.  For whatever reasons, He shakes up the earth in one place, allowing thousands of lives to be sacrificed.  Or, He pushes the winds at breakneck speeds through a residential area, allowing this house to be passed over and that one to be decimated.  His power and might is beyond frightening and beautiful.  It’s shocking and fascinating.

I don’t believe in a vengeful God who has nothing else to do but to allow suffering among His beloved creations.  And, I don’t believe that weather is just scientific (all those weather patterns had to start somewhere!).  I believe we have a God who has an understanding and vision greater than anything I can imagine, who has a plan that is perfect, even if I don’t get it.

Today, schools are being let out early and people will be hurrying home from work as meteorologists are predicting terrible weather again for our state (in fact, this morning, homes have already been damaged by tornadoes).  Admittedly, my heart races a little every time I hear the sirens go off or I see that little red box of “warning” going over my city.

I try my best, though, to remember that I have a God who loves me, who doesn’t do things arbitrarily.  I won’t make any stupid choices that could harm me or my family, but if God sees fit to do some damage, all I can do is stand in wonder and awe of His might and praise Him in the storm.

Tornado that ripped across Alabama Apr. 22, 2011...it was a mile wide.