Sitting at the feet of the Lord

Just sitting, listening, hearing. That's what it seemed that Mary was doing in this week's Gospel verse. Martha was busy making dinner.

Can you take time to sit this summer?

At the feet of a friend?

by the bedside of a neighbor?

by the lake with a glass of lemondade?

"Be still, and know that I am God" Ps. 46:10

It is too easy to get caught up in the rush of summer vacation. It is good to vacate an over-harried schedule, and take the time to be still and pray.

Some of the kids in the Chisago Lakes area (about 90 of them) were somewhat still at Vacation Bible School. Twice during the morning they sat in thier tribes and listened to their leader. The rest of the time they were moving.

Both are good, moving and being still. But only one is necessary: Know that God is God!

Keep your hand on the Cultivator

Big Pete
Originally uploaded by thebigboat2000

We visited the Historic Kelly Farm last weekend and Jonah and I got to help Cultivate the Corn. We probably wern't much help, but I don't think we killed any corn. The idea is to plow up the weeds between the corn, so they die and the corn gets more water and nutrients so it can grow.

We are constantly being cultivated by God. The weeds that grow in our life; fears, angers, addictions, media, meanness, are being pulled out by the roots and thrown aside. We probably don't even see most of the threats to our faith. The ones that are closest to us are the hardest to pull. That job has to be done by hand. It can hurt to pull out the habits that seem to define us, but really defy us.

Have you cultivated your faith this year? Pull out the weeds and feed and water the good stuff.

Freedom

2007-02-28_10
Originally uploaded by thebigboat2000

What's keeping you inside? What has you all wrapped up and away from where you really want to be?

There was a guy in Gerasa who was pushed out by the others, sent away, even tied up to keep him in the sticks. Apparently he had some trouble in "normal" social situations. What troubles he had exactly we don't know but by the time we meet him he's ready to go off the deep end.

So Jesus shows up. Hops off the boat after crossing the lake and calming the storm. And this naked guy comes up to him and shrieks "Why are you bothering me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" For Jesus had already commanded the evil spirits to leave.

Off the deep end they go, indeed. A whole crowd of demons take the pigs for a ride and jump off, into the sea. Gone, forever. Our Naked Man is now dressed, quiet and ready to follow Jesus wherever he goes. He is free.

He didn't ask, he didn't pay, he was just freed. In fact, he couldn't have asked for himself, he was that deep in the drink. Like the woman who had washed his feet, Jesus freed her of her sin before she asked. It is the sins that we don't acknowledge or perhaps even know about that really tie us up. The stuff we won't or can't or just don't confess before God and our neighbor.

But Jesus forgives us. For his sake we don't have to be tied up in chains, locked in a tomb, hidden away. We are free to tell others what God has done for us.

That is the request. Not an order, but an imperative: "Go home and tell what God has done for you!"

Why are they called StrawBerries?

We went strawberry picking on Saturday, and J asked me why they are called strawberries. If you only buy your berries from a grocery store, you might think it's because they taste a little like straw. But if you are lucky enough to have a good pick-you-own Strawberry farm near you you might have a better picture. Strawberry Haven, our local place has rows upon rows of big green plants interspersed with aisles of ... you guess.. Straw! I heard once that the name came from the practice of mulching the berry plants with straw to keep the precious berries off the ground.

So, seeing all those rows of berries in the straw makes a whole lot of sense. And a whole lot of good eating!