Curmudgeonly Attitude

I have had a rough few days and the more I thought about all that's gone wrong, the more upset I became, the more upset I became, the more I thought about what was wrong with the world, the more I thought about what was wrong with the world, the more helpless I began to feel.... I was spiraling into a deep dark place and it really was very unhelpful for my mental health as well as my physical health - my stomach was in knots, my shoulders were sore, and I had a headache!

Last week in worship we asked people to write down on paper what they thought the values of our congregation were to help our council to do some visioning work for the church. I collected them Sunday and left them on my desk to deal with on Tuesday when I was back in the office. I sat down to read the responses and while there were some very interesting and hopeful responses, there were also a number of papers with notes about what we don't do, what some people think we should be doing.

These 2 experiences reminded me how much the culture around us encourages us to look at what we don't have, what we can't do, rather than look at all that we have, all that we are doing. The media thrives on having us believe we need more, we need to be more, and we have moved that mentality into everything we encounter.

As a Canadian woman I am very aware of how much honest-to-God blessings I do have in my life. I'm not talking about those #blessed works we see when people write about how big their house is, how many presents they've received for Christmas. I'm talking about those true blessings such as equality, freedom, fair wages, reasonable healthcare, a family, friends, and so on. I live in a country where I can work in any job I am qualified for - my gender doesn't necessarily stop me. If I get hurt I can go to the hospital without worrying about how I will pay for the visit. I live in a house, which has heating and has a family that loves me. You get the idea.

When looking at charitable givings literature, every one shows that when we thank those who give (money and time) and we tell others about the great way their gifts are being used, giving of time and money increases. When an organization does not thank it's givers and only talks about the items needing funding without showing how the money already given is helping, givings of time and money decrease. When we talk positively, the benefits increase; when we do not talk positively and especially when we talk negatively, the benefits decrease.

In the coming year I think my goal for myself and for my congregation will be to find ways to encourage the power of positive thinking and especially positive talking! Here's to a 2017 where we all see the true values right in front of our eyes and not let them be hidden by all the "stuff" we don't have!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

This Sunday our lectionary reading is: 1 Samuel 1:9-11, 19-20, 2:1-10 - Hannah who is barren and cries out her prayer to God for a son. She is eventually given a son and she prays a long and beautiful prayer of praise to God.

As a woman who has been crying and praying for a second child for almost 5 years, this reading both gives me hope and it gives me pain. My husband and I tried for 2 years after we were married for a child and of course when we least expected it, we were blessed beyond measure with a daughter. As soon as it was safe to conceive again (I had an emergency cesarean section)we began trying. Now it's been nearly 5 years and still no hope.

The part of this reading that is difficult for me is the part where God hears her prayer and gives her what she has asked for. What does it mean for me and for all the other families out there for whom no child is ever given? Does God not hear us? Does God not find favour with us?

As a woman who HAS had her prayer answered with my daughter, I can certainly understand Hannah's beautiful prayer of praise - I know I will never forget the day I took the same test I'd taken every month for 2 years and there was a line where I'd never seen a line before. My daughter is 5 and a half now and still every single day I thank God for her - even on those days when she drives me insane!

If I leave the questions that come with God answering Hannah's prayers aside, knowing that Hannah's prayer was answered, and experiencing a beautiful daughter in answer to my own prayer, it is a reminder that God is with us in all we do, all we feel, and while we may never get the answer we want, God is still there with us through it all.

This Sunday my congregation is celebrating its 186th Anniversary and the theme of God is with us through it all feels like a very appropriate place to begin. Our congregation began with men and women who immigrated to the area from Scotland, and the travel they took to get to Canada and the starting of a new life here would have been harrowing in 1830. I imagine during the trip they cried out to God in prayers of help and protection. Through the trip they were assured of God's presence with them, and I imagine that their prayer of praise to God sounded a lot like Hannah's prayer of praise.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

This Sunday our lectionary reading is: 1 Samuel 1:9-11, 19-20, 2:1-10 - Hannah who is barren and cries out her prayer to God for a son. She is eventually given a son and she prays a long and beautiful prayer of praise to God.

As a woman who has been crying and praying for a second child for almost 5 years, this reading both gives me hope and it gives me pain. My husband and I tried for 2 years after we were married for a child and of course when we least expected it, we were blessed beyond measure with a daughter. As soon as it was safe to conceive again (I had an emergency cesarean section)we began trying. Now it's been nearly 5 years and still no hope.

The part of this reading that is difficult for me is the part where God hears her prayer and gives her what she has asked for. What does it mean for me and for all the other families out there for whom no child is ever given? Does God not hear us? Does God not find favour with us?

As a woman who HAS had her prayer answered with my daughter, I can certainly understand Hannah's beautiful prayer of praise - I know I will never forget the day I took the same test I'd taken every month for 2 years and there was a line where I'd never seen a line before. My daughter is 5 and a half now and still every single day I thank God for her - even on those days when she drives me insane!

If I leave the questions that come with God answering Hannah's prayers aside, knowing that Hannah's prayer was answered, and experiencing a beautiful daughter in answer to my own prayer, it is a reminder that God is with us in all we do, all we feel, and while we may never get the answer we want, God is still there with us through it all.

This Sunday my congregation is celebrating it's 186th Anniversary and the theme of God is with us through it all feels like a very appropriate place to begin. Our congregation began with men and women who immigrated to the area from Scotland, and the travel they took to get to Canada and the starting of a new life here would have been harrowing in 1830. I imagine during the trip they cried out to God in prayers of help and protection. Through the trip they were assured of God's presence with them, and I imagine that their prayer of praise to God sounded a lot like Hannah's prayer of praise.

God's bigger than a cow! (Where is God anyway?)

In our congregation we follow the Narrative Lectionary (a set of readings prescribed over a set length of time - in this case over 4 years) This week the story is from Exodus 32:1-14, when Aaron collects the gold from the Israelites and creates a golden calf.

For the people Moses has been the symbol of God for them, as God has spoken to him directly and because of this saved them from Egypt. However, Moses is gone up a mountain and they haven't heard anything from him in too long, and so they begin to have a spiritual crisis; their symbol of God has left them! Aaron decides to be helpful (I'll assume at least!) and gathers their gold to create a symbol of God for them - not they can rest easy because for them God is back. It is quite misguided - creating a false idol of the true God.

However, I wonder if they simply were missing what Moses and his presence had assured them of - God with them. Having Moses with them every day since they left Egypt (because of God's call for them) reminded them the promise God made, to always be with them and protect their people. Without Moses with them they have quickly forgotten this.

The creation of the Golden Calf is a misguided attempt to feel God's presence with them. We have the benefit of already knowing God's 10 Commandments to the Israelites, so we know we are not to make graven images of God to worship, so we do not have golden calves around for us to worship instead of God...however, we DO have idols that represent to us God. Idols that we sometimes forget are NOT God.

Sometimes our idols are statues and sometimes our idols are our traditions. Our church buildings and worship spaces have for many become idols. We sit in the same pew week after week, we get upset if someone messes with our traditions in worship, we are so stagnate in our spiritual connections that we think we cannot worship God unless it is done in the same way we have done for the last 40 years.

But God is so much bigger than our idols. God cannot be contained in a golden image of a calf, or a "traditional" worship service, or our favourite pew! Through some of these items we may see or feel glimpses of God, but these items or ways are not God and to try and close God into a little box (or a calf) does not interest God - probably why God was so upset with the Israelite for doing just that.

God is so much more than our idols - we need to be able to let go of these idols so that we can actually see God. The best way is to see God in God's children, the best way to see God is to feel God as we share the Good news, as we spread God's love through our actions.

Let us BE the face of God for people in the world today rather than showing others false images of God, or images that only capture a small fragment of who God truly is! This Thanksgiving we give thanks for all that God has given us, but let us also push ourselves to hear God's call to us as we remember all that God has given us - let us show the world who God is so that others are not tempted to find God in places that aren't true of who God is.

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I love taking pictures - I really feel God when I'm behind the lens.  Chased a gorgeous sunset the other night and had some fun!