Blogging is like journaling into a black hole. I love to write. Not so sure about blogging, yet. Perhaps it is the absolutely no interaction between writer and reader. The topics that I blog about are visual so maybe that’s the problem.

So we are looking through a new lens. Once a month I will do a video that visually says what I need to say. Once a week I’ll write as usual. Several times a year we’ll try a book study together. Maybe the issue isn’t the blogging. Maybe the issue is the frame around the blogging.

As you enter into a new season in the life of the church and the life of nature, look at this picture and think that sometimes when we change the frame, we change the scenery. And when we change we can see farther into new horizons.

Blessings,
The Faith Gardener

I don’t have many friends. Saying that in a world where one email makes people think they are friends forever is very dangerous. This week my daughter will be married and my best friend is coming for a week to celebrate, help and share in the joy.

I know it’s old fashioned to have one good friend. What about facebook and all those faceless people who read this blog. But friendship to me comes as a gift from God when experiences are shared. You know someone will be a friend almost immediately. The Celts called this spiritual friendship. Friends of the heart.

When relationships are whole is it one way that we understand God’s holiness better. So while I am negotiating the dangerous waters of family and life events, with me will be my friend.

Thank God for friends!

This pictures is a close up of the summer section of The Seasons of Faith Labyrinth. I love the idea of the blooms of our faith crossing with everyday life. I shopped last weekend at a “big box store” and was surrounded by crabby people. I mean seriously frowny, crabby people who were unhappy.

But I was happy. With my daughter’s wedding in two weeks, my hubby and I were doing some stock up. This happens when the grandkids and other guests are coming for an extended time. When it is just the two of us, well if we’re down to one roll of toilet paper, we go buy a package. But that doesn’t work with 10 people in the house.

So back to the store. 2 feet into the store, decided I would smile the entire time I was shopping. Yes, even when the store is out of what I need. Wowsa! It was like smiling through a frown land mine. In my little experiment, it was the cashier as I left that gave me the first smile. And he was getting paid to smile!!!!

Faith crossing life. The inner peace that God brings going on a trek into the world. It’s hard, but when we do it the reward may be a long time coming but when it comes in the smile of another one of God’s people, it is worth the effort.

Have you smiled today?

These are marsh marigolds. When we put in our fish pond, my youngest and my husband put on hip waders and took the John Deere to our marsh to get some real marsh flowers. It was such a mess! I couldn’t believe that these two messy people actually brought back anything that would be pretty-EVER!

And sure enough, out of the mud came these beautiful marsh marigolds. From the mush and the marsh and the mud came beauty that returns year after year.

Our faith is like this when we serve in a community. It seems like we are bogged down with the mess of conflict, chaos, huge event planning and yet out of the mud come those beautiful blooms. Members who identify their gifts and find a way to share them. People in the community who discover that worship is something that brings them closer to God. These are the blooms that emerge time after time in the mud and mush of faith communities.

This year, even being a crocus in my yard is hard work. It’s May 2nd and it was 31 degrees this morning. I have faith that things will bloom, just like these purple beauties. But right now I’ve a little nervous.

The thing is that I always seem to want more in the bloom department. Just like I always seen to want more faith. I’m not even sure what more faith is. Jesus talked about the mustard seed. Faith is just faith. It is or it isn’t. Faith endures or it gives up. So how can I want more faith?

I think the issue is wanting more of everything. We are a society of more. We want to be more beautiful without thinking that we are made in God’s image however we look. We want more forgiveness when we screw up when we are forgiven no matter what. We want more, more, more…

We need to be reminded that more isn’t particularly better. More gray hair isn’t better. More belly fat isn’t better. More debt isn’t better. So why are we so convinced we need more faith?

Maybe a small crocus shooting through the frozen ground is enough. What do you think?

Two dear friends have called in the past week to share an exciting new experience in their congregation. They were talking about and Easter Vigil. I have always loved this contemplative prayer practice. I share my friends excitement.

The thing about prayer is that when it is experienced both alone and within a community, it is like a hidden gift. Like the blooms inside this beautiful flower. You are waiting and praying together and yet alone.

The Easter vigil experience is sensory like so many pieces of the Easter story. It is about seeing, hearing, smelling and speaking in our hearts through prayer. The Easter vigil is powerful. I hope you have the opportunity to be part of an Easter Prayer vigil. We’ll be praying together.

This is Holy Week in the Christian world. Holy Week calls us to feel the despair, the pain of loss and fear. These feelings are holy and part of our Christian identity.

But on this week we are also called to take a holy risk. Like the beautiful 2 year old here, we are called to step out into the Resurrection even if we are scared. We can learn much from a two year old. They are so fearless at times and we need that same fearlessness.

The Resurrection calls us to the next level. We need to recommit ourselves to live our life in Christ. Every year I hear that call to the love of Christ through the experiences of Holy Week. And every time I look at a 2 year, I am inspired. To believe that the risk of the next step on the next level is attainable. I might fall down. I might trip. But I am called to try again surrounded by the grace that Christ brings to my life.

If you can identify this picture, you probably like this stuff.

I can’t stand it. I have to put so much sugar into rhubarb that I might as well eat sugar raw. It’s a pretty color; red and green kinda like Christmas. But it is stringy and sour and I just don’t like it.

Rhubarb reminds me that sometimes we don’t like things that God places in our paths. Think for a minute about something you do not like. How can you turn it into something sacred?

Here’s what I do with rhubarb. I pick the flowers and put them in a vase for beauty. (Okay, they drop pollen, but when the flowers come the rhubarb is almost over!)

Then I cook it with apples one of most favorite fruits. (okay I have to add some sugar)

I then take out my frustrations by mashing it or blending it.

Then I close my eyes and think of the starving children around the world. That takes some time. There are starving children in my area I do not even know. There are people without a meal tonight in thousands of places.

Then I eat the rhubarb sauce. It tastes pretty good like this. I think God and I may come to an agreement that sometimes and in someways, rhubarb is sacred.

Before my grandpa built his own church, we went to the neighboring town, and it was a white community. You know, up north, mostly middle European people and Indians, Chippewa Indians. We were welcome to that church, but once we got in, they didn’t know what to do with us.

James Earl Jones

I don’t happen to think that our faith communities are better because of social networking. I know that the technically brilliant believe that social networking is the best thing ever. I’ve watched the videos and seen the charts.

Community building takes face time. Like the quote above if you need community you find it, even if they don’t know what to do with you. Mostly we no longer no how to find community. For many years communities gathered around schools and churches. With so many churches, private schools and home schooling, community has changed.

If people aren’t coming to worship at your faith community. Go out and get them. Give them some face time and show them who you are. I think we call that Evangelism.

Sometimes we just get thrust into families. It isn’t easy. We are blessed to have Susan be new to our family. Here she is taking whatever family thrusts into her hands. This time it was the youngest grandchild.

Last week Susan matched at a hospital to do a 3-year residency in Family Medicine. I hear she is excited because several friends got the same place. Friends and family often give me pause. Can a friend be closer than family? Can a friend become family? Is it easier or harder to get mad at friends or family?

And how about these questions? Do families or friends text more? Do families or friends email more? Do families or friends Skype more?

I don’t have any of the answers to these questions. I just know that I feel blessed to have my family continue to increase. I have faith that God will get friends and family over tough times. I have faith that relationships are one way that God celebrates with us each day.