What is the world inviting you to create right now?

I wasn't sure what the next question would be, or where it would come from.... and wouldn't you know, David Lamotte posed this question on Facebook, "What is the world inviting you to create right now?"  Oh, what an intriguing question!  God's been sending me lots of "winks" lately, as my friend Meagan would say.  I have to wonder, perhaps God has been winking at me liberally all along, I just didn't see it. 

I've talked a lot about it, but I do think the world is inviting me to create healthy habits right now.  To give an update to those who follow this blog, I have succeeded, two days in a row, to waking up before the rest of my household and spending time in devotion.  Turns out, my coffee pot will create the sweet nectar of the gods, the hot, brown, magic potion; before the sun rises.  Turns out, I can meditate without falling back to sleep!  It isn't perfect meditation, but it is an attempt--so all to the good. 

I have not succeeded in writing this blog, every day of lent, but close.  Sometimes the effort is just as satisfying as the achievement.  So, keep trying. 

And another thing I am called to create (I wouldn't necessarily say, "the world", I would say, "God" but you consider whatever works best for you); I think shaping authenticity is a big part of my life's work right now.  Living in ways that are authentically my own.  Adulting=hard.  Parenting=hard.  Ministry=hard.  I am human and I cannot have it ALL together ALL the time.  Admitting this to myself, and to others when I need to set boundaries or take rest; very important.  It all comes down to openness and awareness of self. 

Are you aware of your needs?  Are you watching for the winks?  What are you being called upon to create? 

How do you define love?

The scriptures tell us in 1st Corinthians 13: 

"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant⁵or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;⁶it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. ⁷It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends." 

We had this scripture read at our wedding (many people do) so obviously I believe it.   But I also believe that love is messy. Incredibly messy.  

Love can be patient, but sometimes the patience runs out and actions that demonstrate love, no matter how difficult, must be taken. 

Love can be kind, but it can also feel like 1,000 needles stabbing you in the back if you don't recognize it, embrace it, or think it through.  

Love isn't envious--but the brokenness of our humanity tells us that we do in fact experience envy, even of those people we admire, or love.  Love often brings us to desire what others have thinking that is what is best--but we have to consider what is best for our own hearts. 

Love isn't boastful or arrogant, or rude.   Sure it is.  When you are in love with someone you want to shout it from the rooftops loudly enough to make the birds scatter on wide wings.  

Love may not be rude, but it can be tough. It can mean setting boundaries, standing firm, being adamant with expressions that may come across as unloving. 

Love doesn't insist on it's own way, but I would argue that expressing love for self and others means having an opinion.  Just because we love, doesn't mean we are weak or meek.  

Love is irritable.  Sorry, just is.  No one in this world can make me more irritable than my child and my spouse and they are still my whole heart.  

Love is not perfection--and the rejoicing in the truth means loving the whole person, imperfections and all.  Because we will fall, we will make mistakes, we will need grace.  Love is grace. 

I do believe that love bears, believes, hopes, and endures.  Because God is love and God has not failed me yet.  In my darkest hours, the sliver of light appears beyond the crack below the doors I thought were closed.  

But love is messy.  Every single day messy.  But we keep going, because love is also hope, and ultimately, we could not endure the brokenness without it.  

What used to make you happy when you were a kid?

I like this question, but I confess I do not have much energy for it today.  So, these might be bullet points....and maybe I will come back and explain them at length some other time, because who doesn't love revisiting fond memories?

- Some of my earliest memories are at Grandma Pearlie's house on Pocket Road in Hurt, Virginia.  My parents had to leave home for work very early so Dad would drop me off to stay or wait for the bus at Pearlie's right down the road from our house.  In the winter I would curl up by Pearlie's chair in her living room while she watched the morning news, I would lay between the old flowered chair and the heat vent that had a cover on it so the warm heat would blow right on me.   In the summer months I would go back to bed in Pearlie's room and when I woke up I would crawl into her lap in the rocking chair on the back porch until I was ready for breakfast.  I used to love to drink flat coke from the skinny orange cup she had for me. 

-Spending a week with my Grandma Becky and Papa during the summers in Salem was always fantastic.  I remember wading in the creek outside of their house, snapping beans and picking strawberries.  I also remember riding my bike in the driveway and walking the dog to Green Hill Park.  Mid-week Grandma would go to circle and quilt with her friends and I would run all over Green Hill Church of the Brethren where my Dad's family made up a good portion of the congregation. 

-On Sundays Mom would make us pancakes that looked like Mickey Mouse and Grilled Cheese sandwiches for lunch. 

-Dad would let me step on his foot and pretend to pump up his belly each time I pressed down on his toes.  Then if I poked his belly, he would let all the air out.   I also remember him jumping out from behind doors and scaring me pretty often. 

-Our Basset-hound Gertie would wrestle me for an old sock and pull so hard she could drag me and my red beanbag across the floor. 

-The cats, especially Claire, I remember, would chase a string across the porch with me for hours.... she would follow behind me even if I stopped actually pulling the string.

-As we got older weekends were for Whitney's house or mine.  We would use our imagination and play for hours on end.  During the week while we were both at our grandmother's houses we would sit and talk on the phone for hours at a time, even though we just saw each other at school. 

Just a few of the activities and moments that made me happy as a child, as you can see family has always been central.