Monday, January 31, 2011

A gRACE against time: life in Snow Motion

Puntastic, and mildly cheesy- that's your forecast for this blog ;)

click pic for better detail
So, i'm sitting with some coffee this morning, looking out the window at the snow, reflecting on something one of my Omaha tweeps @phileena said about the snow "May the blanket of white invite us deeper into inner stillness, silence & solitude."  This made me begin thinking about it myself, and this occurred to me:  each little piece of snow is like grace.  A little, a little, a little- but next thing you know things look different.  God grants us little pieces, or maybe little 'peaces,' of grace in our day and before you know it what used to be one way is now another.   And, if we are honest, that grace offered isn't always, or further is seldom, convenient.  That grace, like the snow, makes routine NOT routine.  Driving my kids to school today I could either exercise patience or get in a wreck-  graceful?   Maybe.  Gift?  Most assuredly.    When we slow to the pace of the grace we are given, we notice things anew and breath in a new way, more fully and deeply.

I also notice something visually about the snow, and the pieces into piles of it.  How what seems insignificant begins to slowly but slowly change the very landscape and how it makes all things new.  The sloggy, muddy, crusty, wreckable crud becomes a smooth and flowing sea of white.   Grace.  Gift.

click pic for better detail
Last thing on the snow-  it consumes noise.  I don't know where you live or what you have in the area of being able to get 'away' but I challenge you to do so in the snow.  Pretty much anywhere in the country is gonna be able to take advantage of some snow this week- get out and listen, be aware of the way snow, little by little, peace by peace, consumes and quiets the noise around you.  What a gift, not all at once, but just like the grace of God we allow in- the noise and chaos and worry seems to cease.  It doesn't go away, it just ceases to be 'noise.'   The beach, the ocean... the crashing waves-  not 'noise' at all, but still sounds.

My prayer for us all is that we unwrap what God has for us in the lesson of snow this week.  We'll sure have plenty of examples to go check out, so get out there-  listen, and get the peace of snow on your face today




want some extra reading
well, there's some other stuff kicking around up there in my bean about water in it's different forms-  ocean: how you can cast your cares upon Christ out there, how the beautiful noise of waves makes the world's noise seem non-existent, how my sister-in-law is scared/respectful/fearful of the ocean in a way that I am- in the way that Aslan is described as a good-but-not-tame lion. 

your thoughts?

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Invitation to understanding

There was a great article in the magazine Alt Press yesterday, pointed to me by Disciple guitarist Andrew Welch, which is a GREAT primer for those seeking to care more deeply for the community of which you are a part.   This is a community you might not have been AWARE that you are a part of, but if you consume art, whether words or music or pictures,  you are part of the crew.  Creatives create NOT in a vacuum or void, but within the context of a world filled with people like you and I, and their creations feed our souls in ways that nothing else can.

I'd love to have you take 5-10 minutes and read this article, then toss a comment or 2 on here, or email me what thoughts this provokes in you.  I promise you this will open your eyes a little, will enlighten you a bit, and MAYBE even help you begin to care more deeply.  Want to help the very folks this article is talking about?  swing by the LightsOut store or get in touch & be part of OUR team as we minister to artists and seek to provide care for those serving in these spaces.

to read the AP article click here: