Updates!

I think it is high time to give you all a general update on some things I've mentioned here on the blog.

Quaker Youth Book Project: We are currently working on the cover art and looking through the final manuscript before it goes to print to be officially released in late April of this year. These last two weeks, we have been discussing these things and making our final decisions. We are excited to hold the book in our hands and to see it distributed. To release the book, we are meeting in Richmond, Indiana for the Quakers United in Publishing Writer's Conference which we all get to attend at the end of April. At that conference, I am leading a workshop, "Writing as Prayer" which I am thrilled about. It is something I asked if I could do and the committee approved my proposal. (Insert happy dancing.) This is a topic close to the beat of my heart and I am looking forward to sharing something with others that means so much to me. I've also been invited to be on a panel during one of the evening sessions on blogging and that too, is exciting to me. Both of these public ministries are in addition to the panel made up of our editorial board during another evening session. Following that panel, Angelina tells us will be a BIG party. It will be a fun trip and I am really excited to bring a copy of the book home with me.

Pacific Northwest Quaker Women's Theology Conference: While I haven't mentioned this conference yet, (I will be), it is now fully on my radar screen as I have given my official yes to serve as volunteer coordinator and more importantly to me, to speak along with Sarah Peterson and Ashley Wilcox on spiritual friendship. Within this topic, a different part resonates with each of us more deeply so we are "passing the mike" during our talk. When Ashley first asked me to speak on spiritual friendship, my heart went right to spiritual direction, a relationship I have found to be particularly powerful both as a director and as a directee.

Kenya Photos: My favorite photos from Kenya are now in albums to make it easier for me to look at them and share my experience with others. If you would like to see them, let me know and we can get together for coffee or something along those lines!

Richmond's Read Posters: I posted my favorite poster that I made before I left for Kenya. This has been a project I have been working on for my favorite library and elementary school, creating posters of all their staff reading books. I have learned an immense amount about photoshop through working on this project and while I am indeed ready to see the posters hanging in the halls, it has been a lot of fun and right up my creative alley. There are over 40 posters in all and we are getting close to being done. When we are finished and I save them all in the JPG format for the printer, I will post some of my favorites on here for your enjoyment (and my own!). A side benefit of this project is I now know every staff member's face and they know mine. Often, when I'm not subbing, you can find me there in the library volunteering my heart out. With all the schools I go to and the different jobs I do, it has made a world of difference to me to have one school with staff who greet me by name when I walk in the door and considers me a part of the team. It has been one of the many examples of the lesson that life holds many surprises along our journey, some absolutely delightful and a blessed gift.

U-Turn Challenge: I've mentioned the U-Turn Challenge at First Tech Credit Union several times. The challenge is finished, the data is turned in, but they haven't announced the winners yet. I'm looking forward to hearing about it when it happens. By the way, because of what I've heard about First Tech, I opened an account and they have been wonderful to work with. For those in Oregon and Washington, I would highly recommend them.

If you have any other questions on things I've posted, or haven't posted as the case may be, leave a comment and I will answer them!

All Truth is God's Truth

I belong to two churches, one Quaker and one not (it's Christian). In one I have a great base from which to minister, the Quaker church, and in the other, I get a place to be ministered to in the forms of great discussions and time with young adult friends, Ecclesia. Now in both, there is some degree of each but that is their emphasis and I treasure both. In addition to these two churches, I also treasure my time at the Jewish temple as it speaks to places in me Christianity never has. I'll have to think more about what those places are so I can share them with you sometime. Perhaps I'll write that post for Purim.

Ecclesia, on the other hand, is what you would call a house church, started by a group of young adults who worked odd hours and needed a spiritual community. They started a Bible study and after some time, realized they had a church on their hands complete with a pastor. On Sunday, we celebrate our third birthday complete with cards to the church, writing out what we appreciate. I found the group some time ago and have delighted in them more and more ever since as they are great people I love being with and I really needed a group of friends my age to hang out with throughout the week and with whom to share in the love of God.

So on my blog when I say church, it could mean either one but probably means Ecclesia most of the time. I will try to clarify which one I mean. It's important to me to have a couple different sources of spiritual nourishment whether through churches, friendships, and time alone with God. It's unhealthy to get stuck in the ways of one denomination when there is so much truth and richness in others as well. It helps us all be loving children of God when we appreciate and lift up other ways to worship that also echo within us and even those that don't. But no matter what group we participate in, we need to keep remembering and practicing the gift that all truth is God's truth.

Last night at Ecclesia we were talking about praise. To praise someone we tell them, ourselves, and others how great they are, their wonderful qualities, and what they've done. Jordan invited us to say specifically, not in general terms, what God has done for us. For example, when I stretch myself too far like in the last few weeks or I get sick like in the last two days, God "handles" me. He will clear my schedule and give me space when I need it or when I'm not feeling well, he makes sure I get calm substituting jobs where I can stay inside and not move around a lot like in passroom or an office. Tomorrow I get an elementary school library which is my favorite type of job. Putting books away is meditative for me. When I am exhausted and feeling ill, I just lay on the "floor" and God picks me up in his arms and takes me to a place where I can rest under his ministrations. We stay there until I am feeling better which I must admit, I probably prolong a bit as it is so calming and peaceful to just lay down beside where he's sitting and let him lay his hand on my forehead. I don't think he minds me wanting to stay. I am so glad and grateful to know he is there for me. That he is there taking care of me in a very real way and that it is at these times when I can't take care of what I need myself I most sense his presence.

Thank you God for being there holding my hand. There are times in my day when my craving for you flows over me like a downpour of warm rain and I just stand there, soaking that need in knowing you will fulfill it. I love you.

(It feels really weird not numbering my posts for the blog challenge anymore.)

Symptom Prayer

Have you ever thought about the fact that we pray for the symptoms and not the problem? Thinking about this, I realized I often pray for the symptoms: relationships, career, the little things that while they are important, does not get to the heart of the problem. We pray for a sense of identity and neglect to pray for God to help us find that in our relationship with Him. We pray for relationships yet neglect the one we have with our Creator. We ask for a sense of purpose yet ignore the voice inside telling us what that is. What is more, is that the heart of the issues are things we can do something about. If I am lonely, I can go out and work on forming new relationships. If I want to further my career, then I need to work on how to do that. If I want to discover new life and find direction, then I need to be exploring different avenues I could take. While it is important to wait on God and there are times to do only that, there are also times to get up out of the pew and pick up the tools. I'm not saying we shouldn't pray about these things. The first thing we need to do is pray. But then we need to get up off our knees and do something about it. God gave us the brains we were born with. It is honoring to Him to use them.

365-09 #191