If you don't have anything nice to say, well don't blog....

For the past several weeks I have been quiet in my blogging. Mostly because though some people like to be controversial with their blogs, to generate more followers, that just isn't my approach. So, I decided to follow the age old wisdom, if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. Well I am back, and though I hope what I say will be thought provoking, my thoughts are in a much better place today then the day I went to the women's retreat at my new church.
It was an awesome day, a women's retreat in SILENCE! Yep, no speaking, nothing for 6 hours...and that was the totality of the retreat, I am telling you folks I love my church~it rocks....During the six hours of silence you could do anything you wanted that nourished your spirit and prepared your "manger for advent" including seeking spiritual direction from our Reverend, and you could get a massage from a nun who came down to serve the women that day. So I wrote a lot, about things that have been disturbing me lately.
That is why I stopped blogging. I love being Episcopal because we love everyone, our doors are open wide to all who will come - left, right, middle, white, black, all who love or seek to know the Lord are welcome at His table. Its liberating, but what has been troubling me is that word, love. Do I really love everyone? Do you?
The only honest answer I have found at the quiet retreat, and am living with today is no, not really. I don't love everyone, and that means that I am not following the greatest of the commands, and that is really a bummer. I am falling short, so short of what Christ wants for and from me; but this is no great surprise to him.....
That too is what I am living with, the implications of a God who is not surprised by anything, nothing. On one hand its a great comfort, on another hand it really makes me angry. These are the new realities that are a part of my spiritual journey today, I suppose they have always been there, but today as I slow down, way down in my life I am starting to understand just who it is I don't love well in the kingdom and world around me; and why. And its quite convicting.

If you are willing to spend even an hour of quiet contemplation and make that list God will bless you for your honesty and He will be faithful to begin to give you eyes to see how and who to love and why it is so important that we love those who are the least like us, the least likely to deserve our love, and he will help us to gain a heart and understanding for them. Watch, it will happen, then come back and please tell me about it!

What we already knew....we are in a recession.

After church on Sunday the Rev. Diane gave my husband a copy of her Thanksgiving service to share with me. I was so blessed by her words, and today one of the points she made kept echoing in my head and heart - more on that later.

Today the government announced with its usual flair that we have apparently been in a recession for one year. Now I don't know about you, but I didn't need that announcement to confirm what I've known for quite some time. Sure there are technical, economic indicators that confirm we are indeed in an economic recession. Unfortunately its only in hindsight that this pronouncement can be made - with historical data.

How then are we to respond, especially as Christians. Now we get back to the Rev. Diane's most awesome Thanksgiving message. She says, "now is not the time to hoard, or operate from fear but rather to be as generous as you can afford to be in sharing your blessings with others who are less fortunate." I mean wow, how counter intuitive, yet how totally Christ-like. Right now, I am watching every single penny I am spending, and cutting every extravagance - but the one thing I shouldn't be cutting is my giving; especially to the poor, needy, and disenfranchised. Sure that would be an easy cut because really how far away from us are they? Africa, Indonesia, Russia? Well no, they are our neighbors. They are people just like you and me - people who have been laid off from work who just need a little kindness; someone to be generous with them in these scary times.

So these were my marching orders this past weekend, give as much as we can - not simply materially but time, energy, love, laughter, interest, compassion, care, concern, acknowledgment, encouragement and the coat off your back. Now that is a challenge that gets me excited about weathering this recession, staying generous in word, spirit, and deed through fearful times.

What about you, will you join me in becoming recession proof through having a spirit of generosity? Go ahead, try it tomorrow just bless someone either in spirit or deed and see how it goes. Maybe even that homeless person at the end of the freeway off ramp who you think is just running a racket, give them the benefit of the doubt and a buck or a burger or something.....just do it, try this generosity thing on for size and lets see if we can't counter the pervasive fear that is spreading around with some good old fashion christian love and kindness.