A storm is rolling in...

...in so many ways.

And for these reasons I am taking the week off. 

May it be a week of reflection. 

And I give you permission...

...to mourn.

....to cry.

...to wait. 

...to long for redemption.

There is a storm rolling in. 

It will last a week. 

But we are resurrection people...

...just not yet. 

...not yet. 

One week,

BEAT

From dust to dust...

No more online shopping. Or browsing. For f-o-r-t-y days. 

I mean browsing is just like window shopping. If you think about it. (Thanks Heather.)

It takes up lots of free time. And when I say free time, it is actually time that I could be studying, writing letters, talking to my family, and maybe (just maybe) praying for peace. 

Let's hope for less procrastination. Some money saved. I can hope. 

Do you know what it is really about? Consumption. 

See, I have been listening in my Constructive Theology II class. So much, so that I am having to write a sermon about it. I am developing a Potluck Theology. Prepare, share, and eat. Think about it, there are very few leftovers at a Potluck. And you rarely leave a Potluck over stuffed. Open table. Enough for all. But not too much. 

It is really about consumption. I have enough. I don't need to wish for more. Look for more. Ponder more. Or buy more. It so easily ends in buying. 

So, no more online browsing. No Etsy.com. No Old Navy.com. No Patagonia.com. No. More. .Com. 

The other thing, I kinda realized how impersonal online shopping is. I don't have to talk to anyone. No one. Don't have to ask how anyone is. No small talk. No contact. Just me tapping away on my keys. Pulling the credit card out of the wallet. Forgetting about the hassle of waiting in lines.  

If nothing else, I still spend my money. At least I will have to look someone in the eye when I say, "No I don't want to sign up for another credit card."

I hear the Creator is reflected in all creation. In people. In their smile. In their good work...of maybe just being. Just connecting. Giving contact. 

I think I've read something about Imago Dei. The image of God found in humanity. Full of value, not because of their function. Beyond doing. Just being. Just connecting. Giving contact. To me.

No online shopping. Or browsing. I have to keep reminding myself of that second part. 

Less consumption. More human contact.  From dust, back to dust. That is how we are all the same. 

Less material. More being in relationship. We are mortal. That is how we are all the same. 

From dust, back to dust. 

BEAT

40 of 365 Part II

One last day to eat your chocolate, drink coffee and tea, Facebook browse, and maybe even blog. I will share my own going without soon. Just wanting to hear from others. And so you know, it can be a time of incorporation. Not just going without. Either way, Lent is upon us. 

40 of 365,

BEAT

40 of 365

Ash Wednesday is fast approaching. The holy season of Lent is before us. One of my favorite times of the year. There is a calmness that ensues. The air is filled with a renewed focus. Concentration. Stillness even. 

Maybe it is because people give up drinking coffee (or sweet tea) and eating chocolate.

Maybe it is because there is lots required of the faithful, of disciples during these forty days. 

Prayer. Repentance. Forgiveness. 

Remembering. 

Going without. 

Coming into peace. 

Living a gospel of hope, even though you know what happens at the end of the story. The really sad events of death. Death of destructive habits. Death of grudges. Death of the one who loved neighbors, strangers, and enemies. 

Living a gospel of joy, even though you know what happens at the end of the story. This is a different type of anticipation. This anticipation faces death, first. Yet, there is joy in that morning sunrise. There is a new creation. 

A calmness. In the midst of preparation. Anticipation. A waiting that requires strength, will power and...hope. A longing for the moment of restoration. Forty days. Forty days to forgive. 

Ash Wednesday is upon us, friends. A new calm. A time to remember. Going without. Yet coming into a...new...peace. 

40 of 365,

BEAT