Home again, home again...jiggety jog

Saturday night we arrived home from our amazing trip to Rome. I could talk for a week about it...all the things we saw, all the things we did, the amazing people we met and the memories we made. But to spare you all that, I will just say that I've never experienced history, culture, food and exhaustion in such an intense manner. Every day was full and we seemed never to stop being amazed by so much really old stuff :) From standing where St. Peter was crucified to viewing ornaments that adorned Caligula's pleasure boats...makes me realize again how small my little part in this world really is. Now, back to our regular ol' lives; which as Alvaro and I have both agreed, is the most wonderful thing we have.

Having too much fun to write

Step number one after flying to Rome...take 5 hour nap since you cannot sleep on the plane. Then wake up to not knowing what day it is and if you should eat breakfast or dinner. Wow, what an amazing time already. Yesterday we saw the Colleseum and The Forum... we are staying only a 5 minute walk from Vatican City but tomorrow we will go into St. Peter's. I can't figure out how to get pictures into the blog entry...so you'll just have to wait on those.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone again and to tell you all about our trip. Probably won't write much as I now know we are going from morning to night! Miss you all! (Mom and Dad...you will love it here!

Leaving on an airplane

It is 6:45 a.m. and I'm sitting on the couch waiting for the shuttle to the airport. Today we are going to Rome!!! We have anticipated this trip for a few months now and it's hard to believe it is finally here. The only reason I haven't blogged about before is that if I acknowledge something this exciting too soon, I would be unable to concentrate on work and stuff due to my ridiculous excitement...plus I get the stomach ache.
So, for the next week I'll treat this blog as our travel journal. Forgive my childlike amazement at the things we will see...I've never been to Europe nor have I experienced the history of such an ancient land. There is a internet room at the hotel and I'm armed with my camera.
Today we board the plane at 10:00 a.m., make a stop in Chicago and then its an 8 hour flight to Rome. Stay tuned......

Woo Hoo!!! My 100th blog entry!

Yes, I know you're in a state of complete and utter shock that I have that much to say and even more shocked that my opinions and thoughts just tumble out to whoever is listening and even those who are not. HA! My first blog entry was in May of 2007. The idea to blog was inspired by my new friend Rev. Kathryn Ransdell (see her blog listed in my faves over there to the right). She had started a blog and encourage us on the church staff to do so as well. It has turned out to be a great way for me to process my thoughts out loud and more importantly, communicate what I really think. I'm certainly not an accomplished writer and your forgiveness has been kindly welcomed.

So what topic would be worthy of this milestone? I certainly can't just talk about my day, the insects I picked off my flowers this morning or how mad junk mail makes me! I know, I'll talk about God :)

As you know, I don't do well with trite language regarding God...I'm not an utterer of "Just give it to God" and I'm not one to communicate that loving God makes life all better - as if it were all about how our lives are going anyway. But I AM one to be in amazement that I'm still loved by God even though I have so not lived up to God's understanding of my potential. I accept God's unending love and at the same time say to God, "Really??? Even after that fiasco??" I would say that of all the great theological concepts and discussions one could have about God, the most important thing is to accept God's love. Accept the grace God gives and gives and gives. Only then can we be the kind of people who can successfully serve God, participate in relationships, love other people and generally move on from our concentration on 'us'.

Give it a think. Are we in the habit of truly internalizing God's love? Or do we entertain self loathing thoughts of incapability in certain areas of our lives. God gives the love and acceptance 24/7...the only obstacle is us.

Family Reunion

Every other year, the Kern family reunion occurs at Camp Lone Star in LaGrange, Texas. My grandfather on my second dad's side was one of 11 children who grew up in a small community called Swiss Alp...just 5 miles outside of LaGrange. This is why we have the reunion in LaGrange...it makes for an easy pilgramage to the homesite and church where Karl Kern and his wife Katerina made their life and carried their calling. This church is the second oldest Lutheran congregation in Texas and my grandpa was the third pastor here. During the course of our time at the church, we get to hear stories such as the one about the boys (in their michevious years) drinking all the communion wine Katerina made from wild Mustang grapes leaving none for Sunday morning. Or the one about my grandpa, Hans, having to smack a runaway horse in the face just to get it to stop...it had some of his younger siblings in the wagon. That horse fell flat but the children were all saved :)

This weekend was so special as we were all reminded of the responsibility to cultivate a sense of longing for understanding our faith. Even planting the seed of wondering is what we are called to do whether it be with our children or our friends.

30 Minute Worship

I've been thinking about whether or not to bring this up for a while now. I have driven past this church just south of Waco several times over the last two years or so and I just can't help be in wonder of this banner that has been splayed on the outside of the building. Now, I don't even remember the denomation of this congregation and I guess it doesn't really matter. What matters is that I most clearly have an issue with this 30 minutes worship idea. Just thinking about driving down I-35 makes me remember that I'm going to pass this church and that blasted banner and that I'm going shake my head in befuddled amazement once again.

Indulge me as I wrestle aloud with my apparent 'problem' with this abbreviated worship concept. First of all, who is this 'quickie' aimed at? If someone has 30 minutes don't they have an hour? Is the decision to worship God on a Sunday morning just so inconvenient that people are feeling the need to bolt after half an hour? I know a lot of retail Christians who take what need from Christ and leave the rest on the shelf. Let's say this church is trying to appeal to first time visitors and seekers and are trying to 'ease' them into an hour long worship (horrors). At what point do they spring it on these unsuspecting folks that there is more to their spirituality than 30 minutes on a Sunday morning. How will people ever find out that the community of the church (if this is what they are seeking) involves time in service to others and time in in-depth study. I just can't help but feel like our society is always trying to make things more 'palitable' in order to sell the product. We want convenience...even to the point of making sure worship doesn't interfer with our real lives. I mean, we wouldn't want to be the last one on the lake! Worship and spirituality is what it is. So many congregations are trying to be all things to all people and then end up serving their congregations poorly. Just like any relationship, a relationship with God takes work and time investment. Maybe one day I will be bothered less by this banner...but probably not.

To Join or Not to Join

...that is the question. Have you ever listened to people talk about church membership? We all know people on both sides of this fence. Some will declare, "I don't believe in organized religion" to which of course I sarcastically declare, "Yes, disorganized religion is most preferable!" Others feel it is an integral part of their spiritual growth to claim a particular church body as their faith family. Part of my day job is to help people discover if FUMC Dallas is the church home for them. I have the most fun exploring with church visitors the many parts of this church body and of course find emmense joy when I get to witness an individual, couple or family finding themselves so "at home" that they want to join the church.
What cannot be assumed, however, is that everyone who walks through the doors of this historic sanctuary is a 'joiner' or that they are even 'churchy'. No assumptions should be made about any one anyway - much less by those claiming to strive to love as Christ loves. We, belonging to a church faith family, must look afresh on each person we encounter...it is the ultimate form of love and respect to strive to get know a person and then love them just as you found them.
That's my brand of evangelism anyway...to get excited about all the different kinds of people God created. We must be genuine in our love. We must not see people through our Christian-colored glasses hoping that everyone will eventually start to look and act like us. Anyway, that would be too bland for my taste :)