A Love/Hate Relationship

I am currently in a love/hate relationship.

With morning.

I'd like to tell you that I took this picture of a beautiful sunRISE off of Oahu. 
But, let's be honest- it was a sunSET.

I hate getting up in the morning.  I hate my alarm clock.  I hate the back-up alarm set on my phone.  I hate the rumbling of trucks driving by my windows that steal five minutes of my sleep.  I am terrible at getting up in the morning, because I am a night owl.  It does not matter how tired I am, I can always find one-more-thing-to-do before bed, which whittles away at my sleep until I become a walking zombie when the sun comes up.

Because (at least my weekdays) I have a flexible work schedule this year, and I know how my mornings go, I have intentionally scheduled things in the morning so that I don't waste my day.  I go to the earliest Mass offered.  I opt for earlier appointments when possible.  I gave up my snooze button for Lent (epic fail there).  I am trying...but I don't seem to be changing my attitude.

I mean, Scripture says, "weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."  I should love the morning, greet the new day, rejoice in the new opportunities, right?

Right.

So one day this week, I found that I needed to be somewhere early.  I decided to get up even earlier so that I could still get done the things that I needed to do before going on with the plan for the day.  I was going to offer it up for Lent as a pittance towards my snooze-button-fail.

But it turns out that what I intended as a sacrifice turned out to be a great encouragement (funny how that works).

I enjoyed watching the sun rise (albeit through my windshield).
I savored the alone time singing to the radio before the rush of the day.
I loved hearing the ring of the church bells calling worshipers to a (very) early Mass.
I soaked in the quiet of the prayer.
I liked sitting down to breakfast. My coffee even tasted better.
I was satisfied to check things off the to-do list at a time of day that I am normally still in bed.
And I still had a whole day in front of me.

So, honestly, I find that I love morning.  I can think of many special moments over the years that all happened only because I forced myself out of bed at an (by my definition) unreasonable hour.

Love or hate, all of the day is a gift from God, meant to savor and appreciate.

And I was glad to have a reminder that the morning is included in that.

Anyone have any advice for greeting the morning with joy?

How I want to spend my leap day

What would you do with your time if the world paused today?

Every four years, we are blessed with an extra day on our calendar.  February 29th is kind of an oddity.  I remember thinking as a kid that if you were born on Leap Day, you would age four times slower (kind of like Robin Williams as Jack, only in reverse).  I of course know now that this is not true, but still think that there is something special about a Leap Day.  Since it is extra, I think that it should be a freebie- as in a day where normal life stops-kind of like pushing the pause button. 

Now, I am not talking "holiday" because holidays tend to be more work than a day off- think about Thanksgiving.  I think that I am trying to capture something more like the Sabbath, the way God intended it.  Everything else stops, you focus on Who God is, and who you are as His creation.  No other responsibilities take precedence. You enter in to true rest. 

So if I could plan my Leap Day as a day when the world pauses, this is what I would do:
(note that I am not trying to imitate that this is the perfect Sabbath, just what I would do today if it were a freebie)

1. I would sleep in- not a long time, just long enough that I don't feel like I need toothpicks in my eyes to proceed with the day.
2. I would make a nice breakfast.  Breakfast is actually my favorite meal of the day, but I rarely have time to cook something good.
3. I would spend a good chunk of time in quiet prayer, in a dimly lit church, without a list of to-dos crowding into my head.
4. I would not answer email or my cell phone. (I guess I couldn't, if the world had paused, huh?)
5. I would go for a nice long walk.
6. I would read something good- something entertaining and challenging.  And while I was reading, I would not have one eye on the clock thinking that I need to stop so that I can get somewhere.
7. I would sit down to watch a movie.  And while I was watching the movie, I would not have my laptop in front of me, I would not fold laundry, I would not work on anything.  I would not do anything but watch.  I think that this movie would be perfect:

So what would you do with your Leap Day?

Fake Fear

Recently my great Youth Group kids joined up with some other great Youth Group kids to try out a local high ropes course.  Air stairs, tightropes, trees to scale, a zip line...lots of fun to be had.

The high ropes course that we were at is a part of a Christian camp.  Our facilitator was informative, good with the kids, had a sense of humor, and was able to work in a few messages about faith.

At one point, the kids were standing facing the high ropes course putting on all of their safety gear.  This was their first good look at the course, and you could see some intimidation, uncertainty, and fear creeping into their expressions.  The kids with the most bravado earlier were even vocalizing nerves.

And that was when our facilitator, pointing at the course, said something like this:

"Think it looks scary, huh?  Feeling a little fear thinking about doing this?  I promise you that you are safe.  Your safety gear is safe.  The facilitators working with you will keep you safe.  The equipment on the course is safe.  As a matter of fact, up on the course is the safest place in the entire camp."

"That fear you are feeling- it is fake.  FAKE!  It is not real, and it is not of God. 

You are safe, and you can do this."

Wow.  What a message.  Can you hear the truth in there that has nothing to do with dangling 30 feet above the ground?  As Christians, we are not called to live a life of fear.  Our God says to us, "See that great big world?  It is full of twists and turns and changes and challenges.  I know that there will be times when you look at it and you will be tempted to fear.  Remember, it is big, but I am bigger.  That fear is FAKE. You are safe.  My Word, My Church, My Sacraments, My people will keep you safe.  I will never leave you or forsake you.  Do not fear.  Choose instead to love."

Reminds me of this song:

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear..." ~1 John 4:18

What to do with a blog…

So, at the beginning of this adventuresome year, I had many people tell me, “You should start a blog!”  I enjoy the blog world, and it sounded great in theory, so I decided to get started.  I thought of a name.  I registered it with blogger.  Found a pretty design.  And… that was it.  Because, where do I go from here?  What should the topic of the blog be?

I don’t have cute kids to share updates about.  I am not planning a wedding that I can keep you apprised of.  I do not have lots of exciting, jet setting tales that will keep you coming back for more.  Hmmm…

I think those that suggested writing a blog wanted me to write about my year of “unemployment.”  Makes sense, but do people really want to read about my life and career drama?  Really, how personal do I want to get with all of cyber space?  (Even though only about three people will probably read this).

Then I thought maybe I could have a craft blog.  I am making more time to be creative these days, and it might be fun to post what I have been making.  I get lots of ideas from online sources, so why not share?

Another idea was to blog about Youth Ministry and my DRE work.  I am always coming up with new Youth Group lessons and games, or craft projects for the younger kids at church.  Why not post some of those ideas for others to use?

Or maybe I could blog about faith in everyday life.  I love finding more and more ways to incorporate my passion for Christ into all aspects of my day.  I also love finding ways to make the culture around us realign to Christianity.  Christians used to set the tone for the culture, but now it seems to be run by the secular.   Let’s try to make the secular holy.

And this is where I got stuck.  I didn’t know which of these topics warranted the attention of a blog.  Plus, there are many more talented than I who cover those topics much better than I ever could.  So I didn’t do anything J

But yesterday in prayer, I was convicted that there just might be something I can share, and maybe this blog could be a forum for that.  So, I am going to write about all of those things listed above, because that is my life.   Here we go!

“But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord.  Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.” ~1 Peter 3:15