Smiles

Smiling. Very soon, this reactionary element to our mood might be outlawed at our local Department of Motor Vehicle. I found article...http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/2009/05/26/20090526ODDno-smiles0526-ON.html, which talks about a need to create a "no smiling" policy while we are getting our photos taken for our drivers license.

What a strange change?

If you read the article, you will learn that our pictures are scanned to see if they match up with any pictures of us formerly taken by the DMV. This prevents people from getting multiple Driver's licenses and creating false identities. The loop hole is that our smiles prevent the pictures from matching up with former pictures.

This new policy makes sense, I guess, but it is kind of frustrating. I just like to have the right to smile, and it feels weird to be told not too. Seriously, have you ever had someone tell you not to smile? I have, and wow, I can't help but busting out in laughter and smiles. So, we will see if this actually work :)

In a similar, but different perspective, our emotions are a very curious case to take a look at. Often, we as humans put on a face, usually a nice one, when we are around people. We come into our homes, work, or even at the grocery store, and try to create within us a different attitude. We put on a face, to hide, often, whats really going on.

Often, this happens at church too. We come into a building to worship the creator of all things, and we pretend to be alright with a smile and a, "I'm ok" response to how we are doing. If there is any place that I would hope would be a place for authentic feelings and reflection, it would be at our worship services.

We follow a resurrected Christ who was filled with emotions, from joy and smiles, to pain, sorrow and grief. Our God faced all of the emotions within his life, and I wonder if we could not be more authentic within our communities when it comes to our emotions?

Grace and Peace,
Micah

Rutted

Does this picture bring back some memories?

It wasn't too long ago when winter was upon us. Sleet, snow and ice covered us, and we were traipsing around in our boots, gloves and hats. That time has passed for now, but do you remember those horrible ruts we get in the roads when driving during the winter? Ugh!

Those ruts are almost the worst part of winter, especially when driving a little Saturn like I do. I would be driving down the road and before I knew it, I would be caught in one of these ruts, shifted and jolted out of control.

Often, I see, we are caught in these ruts in our lives...especially our faith lives. The routine of going to church, hearing and reading a few things about God during the week, and even singing a few songs creates within us a pattern of experiencing God that is really not much of an experience. Sometimes, it might feel monotonous. Some might even say, dare they, boring.

Even I get put into these places sometimes. Sometimes life gets routine. While reading the last portion of the book of Hebrews this week, I passed over Hebrews 13:8. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever." Well, to be honest, that doesn't really knock my socks off too much. Great, Jesus is the same. Always.

I guess this sentiment does not create within me wonder, and awe, and often, that is what I am looking for with God. I seek and look for it over and over, this wonder and majesty about God that will just tilt my world. I want those, "Come to Jesus" moments daily in my life.

Maybe this comes from my postmodern approach to the world, or even my contemporary, "get it now" mindset that has been culturally taught to me from day one.

Yet, if I read this same passage, under the context of looking at a picture like this, my thoughts are totally shifted. This same Jesus, who formed and shaped all of this world, made this Nebula. This is the North America and Pelican Nebula shot by Thierry Legault...(you can find more of his amazing work at http://www.astrophoto.fr/).

The context to how we read and reflect on scripture truly does impact how it reaches us. When I think about Jesus as this amazing creator, alive and active in the world, forming and shaping all of, well...everything, that we are living in and directly responsible for even Nebula's, the awe and wonder return. I get excited about who God is and I even become excited about scriptures like Hebrews 13:6.

Over and over in scripture, we learn about how God loves us and seeks us out and if God is so interested in me, while also being able to form and shape Nebula's, I can't imagine how powerful that love is.

And so, may the awe and wonder continue for all of us as we make our way on this spiritual journey with God.

Grace and Peace,

Micah

Teeter-Totter

I have been working through the book of Hebrews recently. This is such a full book of the Bible, layered with Jewish context and thought, yet always directing us towards Christ. I have been struck with a thought while reading chapter 10.

Chapter 10 of Hebrews walks us through the being of Christ coming into the world in the context of Jewish practices to even out the sin of the people. The Jewish practice of sacrificing animals brought a great amount of time, effort and money for the people. Over and over again, whenever they fell, the had to "atone", even out, there sin by sacrificing something.

Verse 11 reads this...

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.

The mundaness of this role would have been hard...duty filled they completed there task. I think back to my days of working in a warehouse, where I would repeat tasks over and over again...the mundaness of the job was hard for me, yet it was productive.

As I thought about how we make even our broken lives, so often we jump and push to do "good things", to get on God's good side. We strive to even everything out.

This is such a common ethic in our lives. It happens in relationships...and even our law system details this manner of practice. We pay a fine and everything is equaled out. Yet, this is not what Jesus is all about.

Jesus just changed the course of time. He just said "no", with a large voice, and evened everything out for us with the cross.

So, the next time that you catch yourself repeating a mundane task, whether it is cleaning the floors once again, or mowing that lawn, be reminded of how our spiritual lives are on a different path, one that is not about trying to balance a teeter-totter, but one where God has already done all the work.

Grace and Peace,

Micah

Its all about deoderant and prayer

Deoderant.

Not a subject readily talked about. Assumed, mostly, but not really fleshed out. I have had only had a few conversations over the years about deoderant, and must of them were quite informative and embarassing, especially during my coming of age periods...thanks mom :). I am however, posting a link to an article about deoderant, because these fun facts are pretty hilarious.

One of these fun facts that maybe you knew, but I definately didn't was that one researcher thinks that we early humans were not eaten by large animals because we smelled so badly. wow? That is surely an interesting take. Not sure that I buy it, but definitely a fun one to think about.

Here is that link, by the way...http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/05/06/mf.deodorant.fun.facts/index.html

So, what does deoderant and prayer have in common?
Nothing really.

I just wanted to blog about deoderant and be a bit silly, yet if we really stretched it, I imagine that we could find some connections...use daily, creates a pleasent setting, covers us...and so many more!

Seriously, though, today is our national day or prayer. This is a day that we set aside as a nation to simply pray. We join together, as one community, all of us, and communicate with God about our lives, our nation and our world. When we think about it, it is kinda cool that so many people, today, are pausing to speak with God. In a world full of divisions and seperations, we come together on this day.

My hope is that we as a Christian community work to grow more and more connected and less and less polarized. Seperations within denominations and amongst belief systems sometimes put us at odd ends, but truly, we Christians are praying to the same God. 99% of our beliefs amongst Christians are the same, but its that simple 1% which always creates controversy.

So, on this day, may we offer up to God a prayer for all of us and may we be one community, under our God of true unity.

Grace and Peace,
Micah