Thursday, February 6, 2014
a faithful response to the evolution debate
Resources:
Bill Nye: Bible doesn't tell the Earth's true history (Washington Post)
Science, faith not incompatible (Faith in Action)
Social Principles, ¶160
Psalm 19:1-4
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
of plants and prayer
Over the long weekend, a plant in my coworker Susan's office got a little fried in the closed room with the heat on. Its dry, heavy leaves weighed down its pale green stems so that it looked more like a salad that someone dropped in the dirt yesterday than a healthy, vital plant.
Mark said, "Put it in Dave's office! It's sunnier in there and the plant needs sun!" So we did. A couple days later, still wilt-y salad.
Susan did what, to me, seemed like putting the plant out of it's misery. She cut off all of the leaves, except one particularly small, vaguely healthy looking one.
Here's the crazy thing -- literally within hours, the plant perked up! The stems were standing almost vertical, pointed right to heaven. I couldn't help but think about Jesus shouting, "Lazarus, come out!"
How can cutting leaves off a plant revive life? Leaves are the powerhouses of a plant where photosynthesis occurs in earnest. I'm no biologist, but I am an engineer and I understand conservation of energy. My best guess is that the dried up and whithered leaves were consuming as much energy as they produced. Cutting a few things out of one's life, even those things like leaves which should be able to give life, could lead to an invigoration, even a resurrection, if those things are just consuming as much as they produce.
<><><>
For a while, my prayer life felt dried and withered. It just didn't feel like I got as much out as I was putting in.
I went to a leadership retreat with The District Church over the weekend, and that sparked a change. Through worship on Sunday after we returned, especially singing "The Summons" at Capitol Hill UMC, I received new vision. I've decided to spend 40 days in prayer about my call. 40 days is a special time frame for God -- Noah's 40 days of rain while in the ark, Jesus' 40 days of fasting in the desert, and the disciples' 40 days with Jesus after the resurrection to name a few. To me, the major thrust of this year will be discerning where God wants me next and how, if possible and God willing, I can locate the intersection of engineering, faith, and the good of creation and humanity.
With this new vision, I think I succeed, at least in part, in cutting out some my normal patterns of prayer that I easily fall into, and instead replaced it with focused, intent prayer on something that is intensely personal and important to me. What areas of your life are your pouring yourself in, and not getting an abundant return? Will you be able to make a cut and revive some life?
Prayers:
Mark said, "Put it in Dave's office! It's sunnier in there and the plant needs sun!" So we did. A couple days later, still wilt-y salad.
Susan did what, to me, seemed like putting the plant out of it's misery. She cut off all of the leaves, except one particularly small, vaguely healthy looking one.
Here's the crazy thing -- literally within hours, the plant perked up! The stems were standing almost vertical, pointed right to heaven. I couldn't help but think about Jesus shouting, "Lazarus, come out!"
How can cutting leaves off a plant revive life? Leaves are the powerhouses of a plant where photosynthesis occurs in earnest. I'm no biologist, but I am an engineer and I understand conservation of energy. My best guess is that the dried up and whithered leaves were consuming as much energy as they produced. Cutting a few things out of one's life, even those things like leaves which should be able to give life, could lead to an invigoration, even a resurrection, if those things are just consuming as much as they produce.
<><><>
For a while, my prayer life felt dried and withered. It just didn't feel like I got as much out as I was putting in.
I went to a leadership retreat with The District Church over the weekend, and that sparked a change. Through worship on Sunday after we returned, especially singing "The Summons" at Capitol Hill UMC, I received new vision. I've decided to spend 40 days in prayer about my call. 40 days is a special time frame for God -- Noah's 40 days of rain while in the ark, Jesus' 40 days of fasting in the desert, and the disciples' 40 days with Jesus after the resurrection to name a few. To me, the major thrust of this year will be discerning where God wants me next and how, if possible and God willing, I can locate the intersection of engineering, faith, and the good of creation and humanity.
With this new vision, I think I succeed, at least in part, in cutting out some my normal patterns of prayer that I easily fall into, and instead replaced it with focused, intent prayer on something that is intensely personal and important to me. What areas of your life are your pouring yourself in, and not getting an abundant return? Will you be able to make a cut and revive some life?
Prayers:
- Through March 6, I'll be focusing on prayers over calling. Please join me! Let me know how I can be praying for your call. We all have one!
- There have been many setbacks for my young adult brothers and sisters in mission -- placement sites collapsing, visa problems, and difficulty getting plugged into community. They need stability so they can do God's work and live out their calling.
- I'm just joyful (and privileged) to have a supervisor, placement site, and community which I've really grown to love. I thank God for it and hope I can steward the opportunity well.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
fatal error
Before the title gets anyone too worked up, let me say, no one died that I know! Just my computer. Last night, my computer let me know:
McAfee Endpoint Encryption
Fatal Error: [0xEE020006] Getting disk info
Good times, great oldies. So, in lieu of the prose I had planned on posting, which is safe and sound on my computer's hard drive, you get this one that I'm making up on the spot. Oftentimes it's good to leave the Spirit some room to work.
I could spin this a million cliche ways - look how much we (I) rely on technology, take life's speed bumps in stride, this could be a God-given gift of patience testing, I shouldn't complain because there were people who slept outside in the single-digit cold last night, etc. I think those have all been written.
Well, this could be cliche too, but I'm going to go with it. I'm really hoping this is just a software problem, because if so, I should be able to recover my files and start fresh. My computer was starting to feel bogged down and sluggish, burdened and distracted by many things. This fatal error, this death, could be an opportunity to start fresh and new. The old life has died, and a new life, washed clean, can replace it. I think that's the opportunity Christ offers us.
What old life, old ways, old states-of-being is God calling us out of, and how will we respond? Will we respond immediately as the disciples did in Matthew 4?
Let's listen closely for God's call today.
McAfee Endpoint Encryption
Fatal Error: [0xEE020006] Getting disk info
Good times, great oldies. So, in lieu of the prose I had planned on posting, which is safe and sound on my computer's hard drive, you get this one that I'm making up on the spot. Oftentimes it's good to leave the Spirit some room to work.
I could spin this a million cliche ways - look how much we (I) rely on technology, take life's speed bumps in stride, this could be a God-given gift of patience testing, I shouldn't complain because there were people who slept outside in the single-digit cold last night, etc. I think those have all been written.
Well, this could be cliche too, but I'm going to go with it. I'm really hoping this is just a software problem, because if so, I should be able to recover my files and start fresh. My computer was starting to feel bogged down and sluggish, burdened and distracted by many things. This fatal error, this death, could be an opportunity to start fresh and new. The old life has died, and a new life, washed clean, can replace it. I think that's the opportunity Christ offers us.
What old life, old ways, old states-of-being is God calling us out of, and how will we respond? Will we respond immediately as the disciples did in Matthew 4?
Let's listen closely for God's call today.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
silly questions
Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”
John 6:26
Merry Christmas!
This post is going to be like time travel – written on the bus on Saturday, posted on Wednesday. On Saturday morning, I awoke at the early (late?) hour of 4:45am to begin my trek home for Christmas vacation. Traveling by bus is one way I’ve given in to simple living. It’s a release of control compared with having a car – I don’t get much choice as to when I leave, who I ride with, how much stuff I bring, or what temperature the cabin is. Door to door, it’s about 11 hours of travel instead of 6 by car. DC bus to Union Station (oops, bus didn’t come, I had to walk); Megabus to Philadelphia; 2 hour layover; Megabus to State College via Harrisburg; car ride to Brockport.
On the other hand, it is very freeing. There is a lot of time for reflection, reading, and even writing a blog post. While in Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station (pictured) waiting to change buses, I got the opportunity to hang out and chat with a panhandler (not homeless – he had an apartment) for 20 minutes or so. That’s the first time I’ve ever had someone ask me for money and then walk away because they had other things to do!
I read the above scripture during one of my times of waiting. It grabbed me. Earlier in John 6, John records Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000. After everyone had eaten, Jesus slipped away quietly, sensing the desire of the people to “take him by force and make him king.” The next day, the people traced Jesus’ path and caught up with him. “When did you come here?” they wanted to know.
One of the fun things for me about John’s version of the Gospel is that Jesus almost never answers questions directly. I’ve read or heard somewhere that Jesus is so sensitive that he sees through these superficial questions and answers the question that is actually on the hearts of people. Jesus knows that when he came to Capernaum across the sea is not important. The more important question is: why are they are so drawn to Jesus?
I imagine them, and even myself, answering, “Dude, you took five dinner rolls and two cans of tuna and fed 5,000 of us! And we got to take home leftovers!” (Sidenote: I love leftovers)
“Nope. Pretty cool, but actually, you were hungry, and I fed you.” Seeing a miracle is pretty amazing, but having a hole in your soul filled is way better.
Jesus didn’t just give them something to eat to fill their bellies. Manna, the flaky bread-like substance that God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness, is pretty amazing. Jesus – the bread of heaven, God incarnate, walking among us and with us, showing us new ways to live, living and dying to reconcile us to God – is way better. “When did you come here?” now seems like a silly question!
Let’s keep asking God silly questions though. We might not be able to get to the tougher and more important ones on our own.
I hope your Christmas and holiday season has been everything you needed and everything God wanted for you, and that 2013 treated you well. I know it’s been a trip for me. Thank you for your continued support, including reading my blog!
Come, Lord Jesus. Reign in this world; reign in my heart. Merry Christmas!
John 6:26
Merry Christmas!
This post is going to be like time travel – written on the bus on Saturday, posted on Wednesday. On Saturday morning, I awoke at the early (late?) hour of 4:45am to begin my trek home for Christmas vacation. Traveling by bus is one way I’ve given in to simple living. It’s a release of control compared with having a car – I don’t get much choice as to when I leave, who I ride with, how much stuff I bring, or what temperature the cabin is. Door to door, it’s about 11 hours of travel instead of 6 by car. DC bus to Union Station (oops, bus didn’t come, I had to walk); Megabus to Philadelphia; 2 hour layover; Megabus to State College via Harrisburg; car ride to Brockport.
On the other hand, it is very freeing. There is a lot of time for reflection, reading, and even writing a blog post. While in Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station (pictured) waiting to change buses, I got the opportunity to hang out and chat with a panhandler (not homeless – he had an apartment) for 20 minutes or so. That’s the first time I’ve ever had someone ask me for money and then walk away because they had other things to do!
I read the above scripture during one of my times of waiting. It grabbed me. Earlier in John 6, John records Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000. After everyone had eaten, Jesus slipped away quietly, sensing the desire of the people to “take him by force and make him king.” The next day, the people traced Jesus’ path and caught up with him. “When did you come here?” they wanted to know.
One of the fun things for me about John’s version of the Gospel is that Jesus almost never answers questions directly. I’ve read or heard somewhere that Jesus is so sensitive that he sees through these superficial questions and answers the question that is actually on the hearts of people. Jesus knows that when he came to Capernaum across the sea is not important. The more important question is: why are they are so drawn to Jesus?
I imagine them, and even myself, answering, “Dude, you took five dinner rolls and two cans of tuna and fed 5,000 of us! And we got to take home leftovers!” (Sidenote: I love leftovers)
“Nope. Pretty cool, but actually, you were hungry, and I fed you.” Seeing a miracle is pretty amazing, but having a hole in your soul filled is way better.
Jesus didn’t just give them something to eat to fill their bellies. Manna, the flaky bread-like substance that God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness, is pretty amazing. Jesus – the bread of heaven, God incarnate, walking among us and with us, showing us new ways to live, living and dying to reconcile us to God – is way better. “When did you come here?” now seems like a silly question!
Let’s keep asking God silly questions though. We might not be able to get to the tougher and more important ones on our own.
I hope your Christmas and holiday season has been everything you needed and everything God wanted for you, and that 2013 treated you well. I know it’s been a trip for me. Thank you for your continued support, including reading my blog!
Come, Lord Jesus. Reign in this world; reign in my heart. Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
hard at work
I didn't expect the weeks leading up to Christmas to be the busy season for the Seminar Program, but they have been! I’m currently in the midst of my fifth seminar since the beginning of November. I haven’t posted for a while, so I thought I’d just put up a few recent photos as an update.
One of my seminars was for Central Methodist University, which is where one of my US-2 buddies, Kharissa, is placed! It was great to see her and work with her campus ministry group as they processed some service and learning around food justice and brainstorming ways to organize efforts to collect excess food around their campus.
Last week, the storms moved in and the snow flew in our Nation's Capitol. The threat of heavy snow was so high that all the grade schools and universities in the District shut down. The federal government also closed their doors for the day, remembering "Snowpacalypse" a few years ago which resulted in massive abandonment of cars in major roadways as people tried to get home from work. The snow came down hard, but it didn't hold fast. We had an eager group of AmeriCorps member serving with Habitat for Humanity scheduled for a seminar - they said, "the show must go on!" So we did!
I had a great time working with this group of mature, worldly, young adults! They wanted time to explore some issues they don't often talk about, such as drug use, incarceration, and violence, as well as some time to process and reflect on their first few months of service. In the photos below, I'm having them make "What people think I do/what I really do" memes about their AmeriCorps experience so far. What kind of misconceptions might you have about Habitat for Humanity? Unlimited numbers of houses wrapped in bows? Door keys raining from heaven? Nonstop "glory shots" of people raising wall frames? Or maybe, passionate, compassionate, and skilled individuals spending some valuable time in service and learning, and discerning next steps in their careers? (Credit Jay in New York for that wonderful activity idea!)
This week, we're hosting another H4H AmeriCorps team, and they have been just as amazing to work with as last week's group. Our Seminar Design Consultant (my direct supervisor is on leave for a few weeks) Larry let me take the wheel and drive for the first time, taking lead on facilitating the group. It's been the strange and beautiful combination of energizing and exhausting that is group facilitation. I'm up early again tomorrow, so I'm signing off for now. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
One of my seminars was for Central Methodist University, which is where one of my US-2 buddies, Kharissa, is placed! It was great to see her and work with her campus ministry group as they processed some service and learning around food justice and brainstorming ways to organize efforts to collect excess food around their campus.
Last week, the storms moved in and the snow flew in our Nation's Capitol. The threat of heavy snow was so high that all the grade schools and universities in the District shut down. The federal government also closed their doors for the day, remembering "Snowpacalypse" a few years ago which resulted in massive abandonment of cars in major roadways as people tried to get home from work. The snow came down hard, but it didn't hold fast. We had an eager group of AmeriCorps member serving with Habitat for Humanity scheduled for a seminar - they said, "the show must go on!" So we did!
I had a great time working with this group of mature, worldly, young adults! They wanted time to explore some issues they don't often talk about, such as drug use, incarceration, and violence, as well as some time to process and reflect on their first few months of service. In the photos below, I'm having them make "What people think I do/what I really do" memes about their AmeriCorps experience so far. What kind of misconceptions might you have about Habitat for Humanity? Unlimited numbers of houses wrapped in bows? Door keys raining from heaven? Nonstop "glory shots" of people raising wall frames? Or maybe, passionate, compassionate, and skilled individuals spending some valuable time in service and learning, and discerning next steps in their careers? (Credit Jay in New York for that wonderful activity idea!)
This week, we're hosting another H4H AmeriCorps team, and they have been just as amazing to work with as last week's group. Our Seminar Design Consultant (my direct supervisor is on leave for a few weeks) Larry let me take the wheel and drive for the first time, taking lead on facilitating the group. It's been the strange and beautiful combination of energizing and exhausting that is group facilitation. I'm up early again tomorrow, so I'm signing off for now. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Newsletter!
Well, I missed a post last week. If you haven't caught on, I'm doing my best to drop a new post every Wednesday evening. My excuse? I was working on my first newsletter! Inside, you'll find a brief version of my call story, a little about my work and what I'm learning, and a pretty spiffy banner, if I may be so bold. Yes, the color scheme is a little spastic, and green doesn't always look great on computers - I'll work on that for next time.
I hope you enjoy it and find a new connection with God through my story. If you'd like to get on my mailing list, just grab my email address from my "about" page and drop me a line.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you enjoy it and find a new connection with God through my story. If you'd like to get on my mailing list, just grab my email address from my "about" page and drop me a line.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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