Steve-o's Devos: In the beginning...

You always have to start somewhere. A couple of years ago, I thought, wouldn't it be great to discover a new way to reach out to people in Nashua who had not discovered, or perhaps had forgotten, God's very present being in their lives. It was quite a thought....almost mind-boggling to some. Weren't there already plenty of churches in New Hampshire? People could always come to those services. At least, that was the conventional wisdom.

When you give birth to a new thing, especially when it might involve change, things are a little weird at first. When you give birth to a new idea, lots of people want to know how it might end up. It is sort of like announcing the birth of a new child to your extended family who then begins to ask questions like: What will it be when it grows up? Where will it go to college? How will it be able to live on its own? Where is it going to live later?

Questions like that seem silly to ask the parents announcing the birth of their child. A new thing requires a simple response: joy. There should be excitement about something new coming into the world. There should be a sense of great possibilities.

John's Gospel gets rid of those cosy family pictures and pushes us back to recall the very beginnings of the world (click above to read the passage). John wants us to hear the Good News as a rebirth, a new creation, something that God is doing that has a precedent only when the very world was first new. John wants us to recapture that amazing sense of the generousity of God that first came to us in creation. And John wants us to realize that there is a new grace even more overwhelming than this early birth pang: the coming of Jesus, God in the world.

I love the way Eugene Peterson puts this in his adaptation of this Gospel passage: God has moved into the neighborhood. What an amazing return! What a fascinating thought! God is here with us in our own city. God wants to be where we are, where we live. Wow!

Perhaps that is why By The Way was birthed...to remind people that God is here, even in Nashua! God is in our neighborhood and we go out into the businesses and public places to remind everyone of God's intense love for them. We go on the way because of God's intense grace for each and everyone of you.

In some ways, we are also at a new beginning stage at By the Way. Kari will be taking on the duties of this ministry fully in the coming year as God calls me to new ventures. She will need your grace and support as she walks into the neighborhood with God, discovering this amazing new thing that God is doing here. It is a wonderful way to use her gifts.

I will continue to lift you all up in prayer as you enter into this new beginning together and will enjoy the news of your discoveries and the blessings God has in store for you! May you hold the grain of grace given to you in Christ Jesus so that it may blossom into a wondrous new thing! Amen.

Steve-o's Devos: The Presence/ts of Christmas

Are you stressed out yet? Got your Christmas baking done? How about your shopping? Been Caroling? Visited a few relatives? Trying to travel home or to visit friends? It has been a crazy week and weekend for many of us. Not having the power to get to Christmas has practically taken on a new meaning for so many of us here in New England. It is certainly a time to come together as community to care for one another, help one another, and even give thanks for the many blessings we do have even in the midst of all the ice and snow of the new winter.

You know we spend a lot of time wondering about Christmas presents. Some folks start their present shopping the day after December 25th trying to get a quick head start for the next year. Hopefully they will remember where they put these presents 11 months later when the time comes. Hiding something for a year cannot be easy.

The season of Christmas might feel like it is all about the presents we get. Some will tell you that the whole idea of buying and giving presents is what the season of Christmas means. In the midst of a difficult year for many, the idea of spending for presents is a rough one. And if we listen to the way of our own commercial culture we could get quite depressed about all this.

But Christmas is not about presents. It is about presence. Christmas is about being. It might be being with friends, with family, or discovering something deeper. It is this deeper mystery of God coming to us that is the essence of Christmas presence. Luke's story of Jesus (click the title to read the passage) is an amazing reminder about how God enters into our kingdom.

Now even if you don't know the Christmas story from the Bible, you can pick up the bare bones of it from most Holiday fare. Mary and Joe head off to Bethlehem. When they arrive, having forgotten to reserve a room through priceline.com, they discover no rooms are available throughout the town. They are invited to use a barn. Depending on how you look at it, this stable could be a good or a bad thing. The animals and their smells might be bad, but their warmth might be a welcome thing on a cold night. Hay can be pretty warm too (hopefully neither Mary or Joe had allergies!). The couple heads off to this barn for the night and it is here where the miracle of God occurs. Mary gives birth to Jesus.

And now, for something interesting.... For Luke, it was very important to help connect this story for his community in a deeper way. Luke's whole good news of Jesus is centered in the remembrance of the Last Supper....you know, the whole "end" of Jesus' public ministry when he sits at table with his disciples in the upper room. It is there where Jesus invites the disciples to share wine and bread and communicates that they share this common set of elements, this "communion," with one another often. It would be a sign and reminder of how they were all connected into the life and death of Jesus and what that grace meant for them all.

It is in Luke's telling of Jesus' nativity where we see this important story of the stable. Mary lays Jesus into a manger. Manger is just an old-fashioned word for feeding trough. The manger is central to Luke's story because it is here where all the animals would come for the grains and feed that made up their daily food. Jesus must be placed there in Luke's story, because it is a deeper symbol of who Jesus is: the bread of life. Jesus in the manger is a sign of Christmas presence. The manger is the feeding place, the "table," where all are welcome.

Jesus in the manger is a connection, subtle and intentional by Luke, to help us see Jesus as the one who will feed us. We come to him here in this simple and unusual way, and receive a life-giving connection to everyone. In Luke's good news, the signs of "communion" (or fancier word "eucharist") are present constantly from the beginning of Jesus life until the unbelievable end.

Sharing in this simple bread we remember Jesus and all he is for us as disciples. He is our Emmanuel, "God With Us." We take and eat a simple piece of this bread as a reminder of God's presence with us. Jesus is God's present....more importantly, Jesus is God's presence.

May you experience a moment of Jesus' presence in the coming week. Amen.

Sunday's Longest Night Service Postponed

Thursday's service at Riv was wonderful. But... due to the constantly falling snow, we'll reschedule the Sunday night service in Manchester for a date in the not-too-distant future. (I believe there are long nights in January as well...)

All Are Welcome

Service of the Longest Night
a time of prayer and reflection, candlelight and connection
to remember... to grieve... to find hope

There are times when we are hurting during these pre-Christmas days, and we need to know we are not alone. Some are grieving for loved ones who have died. Some are suffering from broken relationships, unemployment, and other kinds of loss. During this time of increasing darkness, we need each other. And we need the light God shines in the midst of our blues.

Whether you are feeling sad or you just want to support others going through tough times… you are welcome to join in this time of remembrance, companionship, and hope. We’ve got two dates and two locations for you to choose from.

Thursday, Dec. 18 at 7:30pm
Rivier College, Dion Center (Clement Street)
Nashua, New Hampshire

Sunday, Dec. 21 at 8:00pm
Gethsemane Lutheran Church, St. James Hall
Pennacook St. and Pine St.
Manchester, New Hampshire

Feel free to bring… pictures of those you are missing, a poem to read or a story to share, a friend or two, or just bring yourself. If you'd like to have pictures of those you are remembering put into a slide show, please send them to Crystal Mohrmann at crystal24@gmail.com.

This event is sponsored by… By the Way; Birch Tree Counseling, Londonderry, NH; and Rivier College Students of Ailing Mothers and Fathers. If you have any questions, call Kari at 603-889-7537.

Directions to Rivier's Dion Center:From the Everett Turnpike/Route 3, take Exit 4. If coming from the north, turn left at lights onto East Dunstable Rd. If coming from the south, turn right onto East Dunstable Rd.. Take right at third light (about 1 mile) onto Main Street. At the roundabout (rotary), take the second right onto the campus. Turn left on Clement Street and follow the signs to the Dion Center, on the left.

Directions to Gethsemane's St. James Hall:Take exit 6 off of 293/Everett Turnpike and turn right on Amoskeag St. which becomes Salmon St. after you cross the bridge. Turn right on Elm St. and left on Pennacook. The parking lot and entrance to St. James Hall will be on your left before you reach Pine St.

Steve-o's Devos: Do Not Be Afraid

As we get ready to gather for the service of the longest night, it is an important time to pause and reflect on this simple yet world-changing story that announces the coming of Jesus (click on the title to read the passage). I could probably spend a lot of time here trying to unravel all the bits and pieces of Luke's story. It is a story filled with mystery, unusual characters, and odd incidents. It is a story that tries to give a careful history of Jesus and wants to start out with an important announcement...really a proclamation for all time.

Two centuries separate Luke's careful account of Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she will be the mother of all mothers. Human history has had various ways to understand the story from more mystic and ancient magically descriptions, to a host of well-reasoned scientific explanations, to a lot of back pedaling and waffling over what "really" happened and how it impacts whether you should follow this Jesus.

The reality of all these various arguments, philosophies, and thoughts boils down to Luke's simple laying out of events. I wonder if he would have elaborated so much if he thought we would have stumbled with incredulity at parts of his tale? But truly we are called to focus on these pieces of bizarreness with jaws dropped. An angel appeared? Mary was a "virgin" and yet is going to have a baby? God's interested in us?

It is the foundation of the message here where that last question is intended to break through. God has taken a hard look at us and realized there is something missing. It means that whatever we thought was normal, whatever thought was a sure thing, is going to get turned upside down...sometimes for good. And do in the midst of this unusual love story, for that is what this is, God's love story for us all, that Gabriel's words, "be not afraid" feel odd and yet are such a welcome to our ears, and to Mary's.

Gabriel's pronouncement opens the door for what should surely have overwhelmed a woman of age let alone a teenager awaiting to be married. In the message Gabriel shares, it is perhaps no mistake that Mary is directed to go to another older woman who can give her perspective and help her through what will be a rough time in the coming weeks. It is this sense that God's hope for us and all that it might mean comes with a promise, but also with the blessings and resources to see us through.

As you come to worship with us in the coming week, take a moment to remember who those loved ones were that might have said "don't be afraid" and take a moment to pause and give thanks for all those who were with you when that voice might have been suddenly and unexpectedly silenced. Even Gabriel did not return to comfort Mary. That job was left to a great cloud of witnesses, her family, and a community that needed to discover what it meant together to be thrust onto the center stage of God's new hope for the world.

May this week be a reminder of hope for you filled with memories of those you loved and those who helped to love you through the loss of someone dear. Amen.

Steve-o's Devos: Who Are You?

Last week, I mentioned how John was out in the desert doing a little dunking in the Jordan River and calling people to wash themselves anew and to prepare for something really important. It turns out that as he did this, some people still wanted to know what he was really up to and who he was, really (see the passage by clicking the title of the devo today).

Isn't it good to know that skepticism has always been around. It must just be a bit of human nature to always want to suspect the reasons behind why something is happening. It can be a good thing too as we learn to ask questions and figure out how our world is put together and how we are connected to one another in some way. Inquiring minds always want to know, right?

Without figuring out what someone is up to on our own, we often need to ask questions. It is a bit odd that people might have come to find out what John was up to out there in the desert, even be baptized, and then to pause afterwards and say, "Wait a minute, now who did you say you were?"

John has a pretty simple answer, he is the "voice in the wilderness." John states simply that he is the one who calls people into the new day that is dawning. He does not expect more or less of how the message is received and he will take you to the river and guide you to be ready, but that is about as far as his ministry can take you.

It perhaps is no wonder then that sometimes we here at BTW find ourselves in a similar situation. "Who Are You?" is a common question of us when we first meet with someone new, or someone in the community asks about what we hope to do here in Nashua. In a lot of ways, we are truly preparing the "way" for something that God is calling us to do together, form a safe community where all are welcome, where we can ask questions openly and without fear, where we can heal from past hurts of all kinds, where we can hear some truly good news in the midst of our daily lives.

In many exchanges of conversation there are often two questions that will arise. The first often is "Who Are You." It is a get-to-know-you sort of question as we figure out how or why we came together to talk in the first place. But then a deeper question comes next, "What are you looking for?". This is the question that John knows the people are wanting an answer to as they wish to figure out who he is and what he is doing.

"Who are you?" the people ask. They want to live differently. They know things must change. they know that the old traditions spoke of a new way of living but they have not seen it. And now they are out in the middle of nowhere, wandering in search of a savior. If not John, then who?

Therein lies the very cornerstone of what the preparations for Christmas are all about. "Who are we really celebrating?" is a question worth reflecting on in these few weeks before December 25th. The television ads want us to think the question is an answer to what we want, but God calls us to reflect on a deeper question, what are we really desiring, hoping, and dreaming for in our lives. God's answer leaves all material things in the dust as a hope for a new dawning day bursts into the world in the form of a little child.

What an interesting place for new hope to start, in the birth of something new. As we consider what our hopes are in these weeks, I encourage you to reflect on who you are and in what new ways you are growing into the person God hoped and knows you can be. If you discover that peace which passes your own understanding and expectations, perhaps you will see that grace-filled break that opens the door into what your heart has longed for all along. Amen

Steve-o's Devos: Getting A Little Wet

If you are paying even a little attention to the news these days it seems like there is very little "good" about it. For many the spectre of homelessness, joblessness, and any other number of "-lessnesses" are poised to overwhelm them. How fascinating it is then that we find ourselves in the season of "Advent" in the time of the Church. Advent is that season that helps us refocus our lives. It is a time to prepare for something wonderful that is about to happen. It is a period of pregnant expectation and longing for change. You might say that we have many signs that are pointing to the way things need to be in our world, and yet we still need a nudge to remind ourselves about this very thing.

In Jesus' day, there was a guy called John who headed off into the desert and began preaching. You would think that this makes little or no sense. Why would someone with a message for everyone to hear go outside of the city to proclaim it? If John's message was so vital, why not head to the very centers of his faith to allow others like him to hear it?

As it is with John's proclamation, so it is with our ministry at By the Way. So often it seems odd that we would go away from a church group to be in the midst of people who would never set foot in the church door. We talk with people who find it hard to believe that anyone really cares about them and prays for them on a regular basis. It is a reality that we discover whenever we walk the streets of Nashua with a flyer or some other advertisement that can be posted in a work location or in a school. It is the thought that somewhere a calm, soothing voice reminds people that they are loved and cared for and that God is calling them into community for a new purpose.

This is the case with John's proclamation (which you can read by clicking the title of our blog today). John's message seems harsh but he takes a simple element, water, and turns it into a symbol that serves as a reminder of a person's need to change. John baptizes people in the Jordan River. His is a symbol of washing away the outer detritus of life, the dirt and dust of living, that cakes the outsides of the people's bodies. He calls them, and us, to "repent", to give up our old ways of thinking and to expand our worldview so that we can be ready for someone who has a message even more earth shattering than John's. That person is Jesus, and John says that his baptism is one only of water, but that "the one" to come will drench us in God's spirit.

What an image that is! Imagine being soaked to the bone in God's grace. Imagine being so completely overwhelmed by God's love that your own hope can never dry out or up.

This is what this preparatory season is all about. It's about cleaning out our lives so that we can be overwhelmingly grateful for the gift of a small baby born of a teen mother in a run down barn. Out of scarcity will come a gift of abundance.

Are you ready to get wet? Amen.

All Are Welcome

Service of the Longest Night
a time of prayer and reflection, candlelight and connection
to remember... to grieve... to find hope

There are times when we are hurting during these pre-Christmas days, and we need to know we are not alone. Some are grieving for loved ones who have died. Some are suffering from broken relationships, unemployment, and other kinds of loss. During this time of increasing darkness, we need each other. And we need the light God shines in the midst of our blues.

Whether you are feeling sad or you just want to support others going through tough times… you are welcome to join in this time of remembrance, companionship, and hope. We’ve got two dates and two locations for you to choose from.

Thursday, Dec. 18 at 7:30pm
Rivier College, Dion Center (Clement Street)
Nashua, New Hampshire

Sunday, Dec. 21 at 8:00pm
Gethsemane Lutheran Church, St. James Hall
Pennacook St. and Pine St.
Manchester, New Hampshire

Feel free to bring… pictures of those you are missing, a poem to read or a story to share, a friend or two, or just bring yourself. If you'd like to have pictures of those you are remembering put into a slide show, please send them to Crystal Mohrmann at crystal24@gmail.com.

This event is sponsored by… By the Way; Birch Tree Counseling, Londonderry, NH; and Rivier College Students of Ailing Mothers and Fathers. If you have any questions, call Kari at 603-889-7537.

Directions to Rivier's Dion Center:
From the Everett Turnpike/Route 3, take Exit 4. If coming from the north, turn left at lights onto East Dunstable Rd. If coming from the south, turn right onto East Dunstable Rd.. Take right at third light (about 1 mile) onto Main Street. At the roundabout (rotary), take the second right onto the campus. Turn left on Clement Street and follow the signs to the Dion Center, on the left.


Directions to Gethsemane's St. James Hall:
Take exit 6 off of 293/Everett Turnpike and turn right on Amoskeag St. which becomes Salmon St. after you cross the bridge. Turn right on Elm St. and left on Pennacook. The parking lot and entrance to St. James Hall will be on your left before you reach Pine St.

Steve-o's Devos: R U Good, or Baaaaaaaaaad?

You might have noticed, but we have been looking at the Gospel of Matthew off and on this year. Matthew's Gospel is often filled with the stories about Jesus that are often most difficult because they seem to find Jesus really confronting us at every level of our being. Things get turned upside down, and yet even Jesus has moments when he understands the importance of the widening grace he is here to bring to everyone.

Jesus comes to us with a reminder (click on title above to go to Matthew 25) that we are to keep our eyes open. We are to reach out to everyone making sure that they have food, clothing, shelter, and signs of grace that they are still important to God. The people who get this message and do this are the "sheep" Jesus speaks about in this passage.

Now there are some goats too--you have to love this rural analagoy Jesus gives us. They get a bit confused that they don't remember ever seeing Jesus poor, thirsty, hungry, homeless, etc. After all, as Jesus walked the countryside, didn't some of them offer to help him out and his disciples? But there is a deeper question here about humanity that Jesus is trying to get at.

We walk a thin line between being a sheep or a goat. It takes a change in our own circumstances sometimes when we realize the importance of sharing resources. Lose your home and suddenly your perspective about shelters and living on the street changes. Have your hours reduced, and suddenly going without food and having no where to turn becomes very real.

And so here in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus is reminding those who wish to follow him that it is their duty to always be on the lookout for those who need an extra bit of help. In so helping them, we get a glimpse of God's kingdom, a place of equality for all where the least of these and the richest of these are considered all on the same level. The economic and social strata must disappear and we are encouraged to live in harmony with one another. Jesus obviously knew that such a message would be confusing to people without something very stark to get their attention. In this story, he starts by inviting us in to an awareness of human needs and then reminds us that we all forget sometimes to reach out to our neighbor.

He states that the sheep get to come in to God's pasture, while the goats have a quite different fate. You might say that if we can have a burning desire to follow and see Jesus in our world, and in one another, that we will never have to worry about getting burned. But we also need to consider how graceful our God is too. There are going to be times when we are "the least of these" and there are going to be times when we will have it all together. The reality is that we should be the same person in all circumstances if we follow Jesus. The question is are you a sheep or a goat, or perhaps, how baaaad are you going to be?

Or maybe the real question is, do you think God's grace is big enough to let the goats come along anyway?........Amen.

November's Deepening Spirit

As a kid, November was for me the dreariest of months. The reason was simple: I loved October and did not want to see it come to an end! October was the month of so many of my favorite things: my favorite color (orange), my favorite friends in the natural world (trees, in all their glory), and my favorite day (Oct. 27, my birthday, of course), just to name a few.

While that kid in me is still alive in full force, the grown-up in me sees a bit more going on in November. I see the dreariness, the darkening, the dying taking place in nature… and it makes me more aware of the deeper, darker things going on inside me and around me. I look out on my beloved trees naked and unadorned, and I think about who I am when all my decorative layers are stripped away... and who I will be when my life comes to an end.

There’s an honesty to this month that can be compelling. One of the things November reminds me to be honest about is death. Death is a part of life, whether I deny it or accept it, run from it or face it head on.

I was just about to write about why death is especially on my mind: that I have an uncle who is in the last stage of his battle with stomach cancer, and I’m wondering when the phone call will come. Before I could type the words, the phone call came.

My Uncle Art died this morning. It’s really true, I’m trying to convince myself. And I’m suddenly a mess of emotions… from gratefulness for all I’ve received from this dear person in my life… to anger that cancer eats away at our loved ones… to peacefulness in knowing his pain is over and he’s resting in God’s arms… to intense sadness for each person I know who will miss him so much. Including me.

Would you be willing to stop whatever it is that you were doing and pray with me? These words capture some of what I'm praying now:

O Living God, my listener, my savior… I don’t want to believe that death is real. I want to keep pretending I am invincible and so are the ones I love. But reality tells me otherwise. And so do you.
With your powerful Spirit, connect me to all those who grieve, all who are facing death, and all who are willing to care and to heal.
Hold us close. Give us strength to keep following Jesus, even when that way is painful. Fill us with confidence that through Jesus’ gift of life, we will live again after death… with you and those who have gone before us.
In Jesus’ name we pray…

Peace to you in your struggles and in your joys. Please feel free to share them, on this blog or over a cup of coffee… anytime. Thank you for your prayers, your spirit given in love.

~ Kari Henkelmann Keyl

What Season is It?

Nothing deeply theological today due to the past busy week in my own life. But with all the things going on in our world and country it seems we do not know where to turn for a glimpse of the season.

We just passed Halloween and I have to say I am always surprised at the way this little holiday of candy grabbing has grown into a holiday to rival Easter and Christmas, commercially at least. I drove by many homes decorated with stuff as much as one would expect at the Christmas season. Need I mention that which we have all seen, Christmas trees and decorations up already. I swear I saw one Christmas tree decorated in hanging pumpkin lights!

In the midst of all this is the political season. It seems like we have been in this season forever but it comes to a quick close this week---hopefully. It seems crazy to flip channels during a commercial break and manage to catch the same commercial airing on the next channel! Other than the actual programming of a network, commercial time seems to be indistinguishable from one channel to the next. How are we supposed to get a break from that to clear our head?

Sunday marked another important day in the church calendar as well. It is referred to as All Saints Day. It is a day for us to reflect on the lives of members of the community who have died in the past year. There are no big speeches for each person, just a moment to remember them by the reading of a name and a time of silence. Sometimes a bell rings after the name is read. It is an interesting feeling of letting go of that person. As the peal of the bell subsides we are able to recall fondly or sadly the loss of the loved one we held dear while being supported by the spirit of those around us. It can be a moving experience.

It in some effects kicks off a month where we move inexorably closer to Thanksgiving. A time that can be filled with preparation for a wonderful feast. A time which celebrates bounty and harvest. A time meant to celebrate the importance of community. It can also be a time of painful memory for indigenous peoples of North America who saw their way of life being subsumed by the new immigrants to this country. Perhaps the resonance of that memory widens in this time when things are changing and in which we see our own way of life being challenged and stretched beyond our own comfort zones.

Regardless of these calendar seasons, we can take time to rejoice in the many blessings we have received in the past year as we begin this month of November. We can take time to reflect on what we have lost in the process as well, remembering that we have a God that can turn mourning in dancing and create abundance from our own perceived scarcity. What an amazing month November is after all!

I invite you to stop by for a cup of coffee or tea this month to just reflect together about God's moving through and in our lives in this amazing season filled with abundant grace.

Just Keep Your Head Above

Last time I wrote (Oct. 6, see below) I was imagining how our lives can be like a swampy struggle to keep our heads above water. And I got more responses to this post (through emails or in person) than any other.

One person told me how much it reminded her of a song by Jack’s Mannequin called Swim. And when she showed me the lyrics, I was blown away. They acknowledge how tough life can be — like choking on the salt water of a tidal wave — but also hint that you can keep swimming when there’s someone beside you, promising that the other side is not as far away as you think.

Then she played the song for me, and as compelling as the lyrics were, the music was even more so. It was such a gift to me to know — not just “head” knowing but the “deep in my bones” knowing that music conveys so well — that I truly am not alone in my need to have someone walk (or swim) beside me.

I’d love to hear what songs keep you going. Maybe we can share that with each other here on the blog. Give it some thought.

The song Swim ends with words that I can imagine God singing to me when I’m feeling pulled down:

You gotta swim

Swim in the dark

There's an ocean to drift in

Feel the tide shifting away from the spark

Yeah you gotta swim

Don't let yourself sink

Just follow the horizon

I promise you it's not as far as you think

The currents will drag us away from our love

Just keep your head above
Just keep your head above
Swim

All kinds of currents drag me away from God’s love, but God’s pull is stronger. And God’s faithful love holds my head up while I swim toward that shore where I can rest a while.

Plenty of the songs/poems of the Bible (aka “psalms”) are similar to Swim in a way. They’re creative expressions of anguish... of sickness or depression or grief. It’s like digging out all your inside ugliness and artistically rearranging the pieces until the whole becomes something with a strange beauty of its own.

Don’t expect the Psalms to be articulate research papers of what to believe. They’re pretty much raw expressions of everything from ecstatic joy to homicidal anger to suicidal grief. They can be companions, friends to let you know you’re not the only one breathing fire or feeling high on life.

You can click on the title of this post to read Psalm 46, where the lyricist sees God in the natural world and in politics as well. But the most profound experience of God comes in the sense of safety in the middle of it all. And that link, BibleGateway, may be one you want to keep handy to find other psalms to check out (there are 150 of them, so you won't run out fast).

And if you'd like to read the rest of Swim's lyrics, here's one of many sites you could go to: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jacksmannequin/swim.html

~ Kari Henkelmann Keyl

Steve-o's Devos: Here We Are

Grace to you and peace.

This is how Paul opens his letter to a a faith community he started in Thessalonica (click the title to read the text). Somehow, those words feel important and necessary lately. As I drive around Nashua, you can begin to see the effects of some of the anxiety that has been unleashed lately in our country. Many restaurants are vacant at dinner, the evening rush seems very manageable with often more staff on hand than there are customers. Something is happening in our city.

What intrigues me most about this passage is that it reminds me that we must come to you not only in word, in places like this blog and facebook, but also in amazing daily encounters in our city. So often, when I have been out at Panera or Unos, it amazes me how often I catch a sign of God's grace and presence in the people around me.

One need only be silent and pay attention to those around you in any coffee shop to discover the many interesting lives and ways that things are happening. One night, a couple of people dreamed about how they could encourage people to give to their ministry. A young woman took a solitary break from her every day work serving others. Another person works diligently at their computer. Further away, someone is being challenged by the Hippo paper's sudoku or crossword puzzle. Counter clerks chat to themselves somewhat nervous that a slow night might mean they have to leave early and earn less money, impacting their own personal budget.

In the midst of these various lines of life, God moves, is moving. If you wait long enough you can begin to sense it and in the more personal conversations we have together we realize why By the Way is here to help you discover a different way of life. It is a way that can break the bondage we have from things that are out of our control but which still feel like they are in charge of our lives. It is a way that opens us up to the abundance that we actually have and can share with others. It is a way that reveals a heart for one another in a world that tends to focus on selfishness.

The question remains, are you ready to be truly inspired by God's spirit? Are you ready to walk a different road that takes you by the way?

Get a Glimpse

Does it ever seem like you’re swimming in a swamp, feeling like the water is maliciously trying to suck you under? It’s all you can do to keep your nose where the oxygen is not in liquid form. But you think: I’m strong. I can keep pushing myself. I can do this. I think…

And then you see the alligator.

It’s not a pleasant way to live, as if the circumstances of your life are all conspiring against you. Like it’s all just too much. With no way out. And there’s no one who could possibly help.

Or is there?

Ok, I know there are times when there truly is no help available; no one but you can dig yourself out. But often what you really need is a caring and smart listener who can re-frame all that’s going on. Someone who can help you see that the safe shore you’re swimming toward is really not unreachable. Someone you trust to swim alongside you. And maybe the two of you can even take on that alligator.

If you can remember such a time when a friend battled alligators with you, just take a moment to soak in that sense of being defended and cared for. And then, with those memories floating around, read the poetic words from Isaiah that you’ll find when you click on the title of this post. Just read the first section, verses 1 – 5.

You’ve read it already? Read it again while the rest of us are catching up, ok?

The poet is seeing God walk beside needy people, fighting the superpower bullies and caring for those who’ve been beaten up. Whenever I read these words, I can truly feel the safety-giving presence of God wash over me. It makes me think of how God has reached out to me through amazing friends or the perfect piece of music or the sight of glorious autumn colors. But that’s just the beginning.

I also feel a strong pull to be looking out for people around me who are in desperate struggles. I sense that God wants to work through me to swim alongside those who are swamped and see no hope.

I think about all those who are going to have a hard time with rent and heating bills this winter, people who are afraid they’ll lose their homes. We’ve really got to be watching out for one another, maybe now more than ever. Maybe that will even help nudge us out of our own hopeless prisons, to be empowered by God’s Spirit to care for others, even as we’re looking for help ourselves.

Ok, if you haven’t already read ahead the rest of the passage (that’s for the high-achieving geeks among us), then read verses 6 – 10.

Now the poet/visionary Isaiah sees an incredibly elaborate meal in the great outdoors, with awesome mountain views. And everyone has a place at this huge picnic table: the desperate ones, the helpful ones, and even the bullies. Everyone’s together, being served up royally by God.

Maybe this isn’t going to be happening today. But one day it will happen. Oppressors and oppressed alike will be at one table, hanging out with God and each other. The biggest bully of them all, Death, will be no more. And if people are crying, it’ll be tears of relief and joy washing over their once-anxious faces.

That’s the kind of hopeful picture that will keep me swimming strong in my swamps, holding up the heads of others so they can see the mountain, too.

~ Kari Henkelmann Keyl

Steve-os Devos: Celebrating the Presence

For those of us who pay attention to the rhythm of the "Church," a rhythm which moves differently from the daily calendar we generally follow, this coming week marks a couple of important things.

First, this coming Sunday marks World Communion Sunday. This is a day that followers of Jesus can be called to remember that though we may all think about the presence of God in many different ways, we all celebrate at the same table. The idea that Christians can have differences of opinion about scriptural interpretation or specific religious practices is a stumbling block that those who desire a closer relationship with Christ have to overcome. The confusion that can happen if you are still seeking a faith community can be pretty intense from one church to another. When you talk to people who have become a part of a faith community, they often say that they decided one day to show up and that this just turned out to "feel right." This happens time and again to those new to the Christian walk, as well as those who may have left the Church and returned later in life.

But coming together to remember the unity we share in Jesus is what makes World Communion Sunday a vital part of the year. The more all the different adjectives of faith come together, the closer we are to understanding and celebrating the richness of Christ's message and God's grace.

And this leads me to the second thing you might see happening around town this week under the guise of "Blessings of the Animals." This celebration marks the ministry of St. Francis who discovered the importance of God's presence in the natural world and who was himself ministered to by animals. So we give thanks on these days for these creatures who occupy our homes, yards, and wild lands. Leading me to share a story that I think brings these two special foci's together in my own odd way.

I have two cats. One of them is 7 years older than the other. When I first brought the youngest one, Tigrah, home, my older cat, Mittens, was not happy. My thought that they could play together and keep each other company was obviously something that either of them had in mind as my older cat, set in her schedule and ritual life, was not willing to allow.

In my bedroom, I had placed one of those cardboard cat scratchers, the kind that is filled with catnip. Now, Mittens had discovered the overwhelming power and fascination of catnip and the need to partake of a good claw sharpening and roll around over this little box on a regular basis. Tigrah, on the other hand, being a kitten, had never really seen such a thing. She had been content to play with the fake little mice, often flinging them onto the bed in the middle of the night and expecting me to interact with her as she pounced about the bed.

So it was with some curiosity as she watched Mittens each day go over to this box and perform her ritual. The two had worked out the proper distance of toleration after a few days and weeks. Yet they each had there separate spaces and places somehow silently agreed to between them. One day, Tigrah, noticing that she was alone in the bedroom, decided to check out this curious box. She crept up slowly to it, her nose sniffing carefully to see if it was dangerous. As was to be expected, the catnip soon took on its effect and she began to rub her neck against the box and soon was perched on it not sure how to use it for scratching.

Out of nowhere pounced Mittens. Hissing along her path, she ran over to the scratching box and stopped abruptly. Tigrah, unsure just where this fit was leading waited patiently. Mittens, seeing her posturing had failed to impress, struck out with her paw, not using her claws, but just enough to encourage Tigrah to leave, which she did. Of course, soon neither cat really used the scratching box at all.

It was all a bit humorous, but it struck me as the perfect example sometimes about how each of us reacts when something we find precious is discovered by a stranger. Sometimes we can find a place where our own naive curiosity is embraced, where our new way of exploring and discovering the world is encouraged, or where we can come share in the delight that others have found. But sometimes we find ourselves in the midst of, well, sour pusses. Places where the rituals have become stale, or so formulaic as to lose their power to those who come regularly.

This is why we we focus on World Communion Sunday, a time for us to remember the mystery and excitement, the anticipation of being part of a practice as old as the faith itself, and which transforms and is transformed for each new Christian. And it's also perhaps why we look at St. Francis, a person who discovered God's grace and presence in an unexpected place.

I hope you have a chance to experience God's grace this week in unexpected ways and places and I pray that By the Way can be the sort of community that allows you to scratch below the surface to a deeper understanding of God's love for you. Amen!

Wednesday "Worship" Nights

Starting in October, we will host a little worship and prayer time at the Panera on 101A. This is pretty informal time for sharing and praying for one another.

Join us beginning Wednesday, Oct. 1 from 7:30-8:30 PM.

Where Are You... Right Now?

In her book, “Eat, Pray, Love”, Elizabeth Gilbert is spending several months living on the Indonesian island of Bali, as a part of a year-long experience of self-discovery. As she’s beginning her time amongst the Balinese, she realizes that there are 2 questions that are always asked when someone of the Balinese culture meets someone else:

“Where are you going?” and “Where are you coming from?”

Asking these questions, Gilbert says, helps the Balinese people to locate you, to see where you stand on their grid of comfort and security. The worst thing you can do, she says, is to answer either of those questions, “I don’t know”, because of the disorienting distress that answer might bring on.

Though we in our culture are much more likely to comfortably say that we have no idea where we are coming from and where we’re going, we also ask those questions of one another. But maybe our questions are more along the lines of, “What are your future plans?” and “What kind of dysfunctional family did you come from?”

Alright, I guess we don’t really say the second one out loud… but it’s become important for many of us to look back into our family histories to learn more about ourselves and what makes us tick. Unquestionably, it’s been a gift to many searching souls to ask, “Where did I come from?” in order to answer the real biggie, “And where am I going?”

But we know so well… every gift has its backside. Or every good idea can be taken too far. And some end up so stymied by what they find in the past that they can’t find their way to the future. Or even to the present.

Today’s Bible passage (click on the title to find the link) about God’s ancient press secretary, wildman Ezekiel, shows us that this reality is nothing new. When God’s people of old were taken from their beloved hometowns to the land of hated superpower Babylon, it was understood that the reason their country was defeated is that people screwed up and everyone was living the consequences of those mistakes. As the next generation was growing up, they felt trapped in the web of their parents’ sins. Our parents ate the bad apples, and we get a stomach ache. IT’S NOT FAIR!

Ezekiel’s got some hard words for the people. But in the end, they’re good news words. Yes, your parents made a bad investment and lost the farm. But you’ve also made some stupid mistakes. Look at your own behavior for a change. That may hurt like hell, but at least you can make some choices, if you dare to look honestly at your life. You can choose to turn toward God. Sulking is not your only choice.

The God you turn toward isn’t looking back. This God’s looking at you right now, for who you are in this minute, not for who you were or who you will be. And this God wants to give you life.

It’s plenty hard to take responsibility for your actions and make big changes. Downright impossible to keep it up. We can’t do it alone. We need God to love us into each new day. We need God’s people to hold us up and keep us strong.

Like Elizabeth Gilbert said of the Balinese, we need a grid to stand on, a community to help locate us. But most of all we need a God who takes us seriously in the moment, forgiving us, graciously turning us around, again and again and again.

Join Steve Wednesday next week

Next Wednesday, Steve will be at the Panera off Exit 1 (behind the Barnes & Nobles) in Nashua. Stop by to say "HI" and check-in.

We are in the process of discerning a physical location for our ministry this Fall so stay tuned for more developments!

Steve-o's Devos: Woe is...Hunh?

There is a saying that "hindsight is 20/20," perhaps meaning that we make lots of decisions that potentially could cause us pain. When they do, we tend to regret ever having made them instead complaining about it to others, or wishing we had chosen differently. A lot of the time our friends and family may simply smile warmly and help us get through the pity party, or they may just say, "See, what did I tell you?" Either way, it rarely makes a whole lot of difference in how we might feel.

I am struck this week by one of my favorite moments of complaint in the Bible. It happens smack dab in the middle of the Exodus and it is a wonderful example of what happens often in our lives when we can look back and try and wish we had made different choices.

You can catch the story of the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt in the Old Testament book of the same name (or the Hollywood version in films like The Prince of Egypt or The Ten Commandments). But let us for a moment think through this situation. People are being enslaved. They have a miserable existence where they can be whipped, overworked, and killed, or simply die from exhaustion. Could anyone in those conditions ever look back and say, "Ah, those were the good old days..."?

Yet, this is exactly what was happening with the Israelites. You know they headed out into the desert in the largest Honda ever constructed...(because they went in one accord...). But seriously, the excitement of all those miracles that Moses performed, the strength of his leadership and a tremendous amount of momentum brought them all to this point in time. In the rush to get out of town, to escape oppression, to find a new freedom unlike any of them had ever seen, they evidently did not take the supplies they needed for the journey.

Moses in faced with a crowd of complaining people. They are running out of food. So they manage to discover a sort of bread that is "rained down from heaven." Wow, they can eat! But it is not enough. "Man cannot live on bread alone! We need meat!" So, soon a flock of quails descend into the camp. The Israelites are fed.

What I love about this story is that Moses states clearly that they are complaining. All of them have blamed God for the situation they are in and expect an answer, no basically demand an answer. You have to wonder what their other options were. There was no place to go, no town nearby...they were in the middle of nowhere. Yet, they demand and expect God to help them. God does. The miracle we see is that the Israelites are fed. But the greater miracle is that God listens.

God listens to our complaints. God does send us the way to change how we are living. God provides ways that can get us out of bad decisions if only we look closely. Even when a food stuff appears on the ground, someone needed to say, "Look, we can eat this!"

It is not uncommon for us to take time and lift our complaints up to others. But this story encourages us to lift them to God. It is a reminder that we make decisions...what a blessing!....they are not predetermined, and they are fluid in that we are not stuck with where we are in any given moment.

"Woe is me? I wish I had never _______________." Can you fill that in?

Perhaps look back at a time when those words, or some like it, came out of your mouth. When you do, you'll likely see that a way out appeared and life went on with the crisis averted. Because when we are in the middle of our journey, it is difficult to see just where we are headed. It was true of Moses and the Israelites journey into the desert, a journey that would lead to the birth of a savior...all in good time.

If we think back to those critical moments of pain or joy, the fleetingness of them is like the blink of an eye. It is a simple instant in our lives that moved us further in the right direction, or momentarily off course. But, if we lift our complaint up to God, there will be a "Hunh" moment when the solution to our situation is staring us in our face. When life takes a turn in unexpected ways with unexpected results, we can lift our complaints to God and be willing for the surprise of our lives. Amen.

BTW Updates

Believe it or not we are hoping to locate a more "real" space in Nashua in the coming weeks. So watch for updates as we go.

In the meantime, Steve will be at Panera next Tuesday from 3:30 - 5:00 PM down off Exit 1. Feel free to stop by and say hi, or spend some time in deeper conversation. Bring a friend too!

Wednesday Conversation Info: Handling My Emotions

Join us Wednesday night at Panera on 101 A for a chance to discuss how we deal with family issues.

This week we will see what happens when a group of friends has to deal with conflict (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2018:%205-17;&version=65;) and then we will talk about ways to live a life worth living (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians%203&version=31).

We start at 7:30 PM and go to about 8:30 depending on our conversation.

See you there!

A Truth Worth Trying On

Last week Steve reflected on the enormously tough but endlessly rewarding work of forgiving those who’ve messed with you. You get hurt. The hurt creates a wall. You can either live with the wall in place or you can do something about it. Be honest. Keep reaching out to the offender. Show the same patient compassion to others as God shows you. Forgive. Or else…

Or else? Yeah, there are consequences to not forgiving. They range from being mildly irritable to living a tortured life. And if the negative consequences are not enough to motivate you, try the positive: True forgiveness is so sweet, such a release, refreshing as a deep cleansing breath. Not to be missed.

With God’s help, and only with God’s help I’m afraid, forgiveness can become a way of life… a way we stray from, to be sure… but the Spirit keeps tugging on us to come back and taste its sweetness again. It can be downright habit-forming.

Forgiving those who’ve injured us is vital. But if you limit yourself to just forgiving the jerks around you, you’re missing out.

This week, try forgiving Life. Try forgiving God. Try forgiving the jerk you sometimes see in the mirror.

List your grievances. Call in your witnesses. Be honest to God. Dare to lay it all on the table. Write it down. Whine a little. Confess to a friend. Do whatever works for you to clean out the stuffed closet that holds all the times life has let you down or you have let yourself down.

Then let it go. With God’s help, let it all go. See God's image in the mirror instead. See God's grinning face when you look out at Life.

Then do it again tomorrow morning, too. Because forgiveness is a gift that keeps on giving. Trite as it may sound, it's the truth. A truth worth trying on.

Many of us visualize the never-drying-up well of forgiveness that is our God with the sign of the cross. All the grievances of all time can somehow fit on that cross.

It’s now a reflex action for me. When my waking-up toes touch the braided rug right next to my bed, my hand flies up to my forehead and down to my heart, across to my left shoulder and on to my right. I’ve sketched a cross upon my body, and I can’t get up out of bed without walking through it.

A new day of forgiveness begins.

~ Kari Henkelmann Keyl

Wednesday Conversation Info: Dealing With Family Issues

Join us Wednesday night at Panera on 101 A for a chance to discuss how we deal with family issues.

We will take a look at the story of Hagar from the book of Genesis (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2021%20;&version=65;) and then discuss ways to gain some peace with comforting words from Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%202:%2011-22&version=31).

See you there!

Steve-o's Devos: You Hurt Me, I Forgive You

The Gospel passage (click the title above to read) has some often difficult words to hear. Perhaps my title is a bit more provocative than the scripture even intends. This is because the interpretation of what is being said here can really veer us into dangerous territory, a place that would inapropriately allow us to not deal with a variety of abuses inflicted on us. But if we look very carefully at what Jesus is saying in this passage we can come up with only one end result: that we own the decision that will shape the direction of the relationships we are in.

Think about that for just a minute. Too often someone hurts us (mentally, physically, verbally) and we have several choices available to us. We can simply ignore the abuse, we can attack back, we can wait until time passes and then seek revenge, or we can seek to repair the damage and hope for healing. It is this latter path that Jesus encourages but with a specific request: that we not go it alone.

You can probably think of any number of people that you have been in conflict with in your life. Often we try to deal with the conflict with that person on our own, suffering the pain alone or lashing back at that person or someone else to spread the frustration and pain around. Jesus encourages us to take a second person along when we want to address a problem and that together you are able to discern the problem and perhaps come to a solution. If that does not work, involve the community in solving the problem with the hope that reconciliation and healing can occur. Jesus does not expect the community to take a side, only to live out a chance to hear the problem and discern a solution that solves the conflict.

What is fascinating is that while this often seems quite idealistic, it is obvious that the reality may not allow for resolution between the two people involved. So, there is a way that we can work towards having our own peace of mind and soul that allows us to move on with our lives and to not let that person have power or control over us any longer. It means sitting down in prayer with another person and giving over our pain and hurt to God. It means not letting that pain have power over our life our our daily living. It is about offering the one who causes us pain a chance for repentance and then handing over to them the power to change, forgiving them in the process.

When we forgive someone it allows us a chance to no longer let them have power over us. It will take a long time. In fact Jesus encourages us that we will need to forgive people 7 X 70 times before we will even be able to move on with our lives. I think rather than giving us a number to remember, Jesus just reminds us that forgiveness is not simple and it takes a long time to take root. But it needs careful nurturing, a time for reconciliation to take root, and a supportive community to hold us close and remind us that we are loved and lovable. The result of having others around us reminds us that Jesus is part of that loving circle and that when we come together in prayer to rejoice in our faithful living we discover that joy that comes from living out our messy lives together.

So, while provocative my title may be for today's devo, I don't mean to imply that you should stay in an abusive situation. God does not want you to live in abusive relationships with others either and this passage from Matthew reminds us that we need one another to overcome those times when it may be too difficult for us to confront the realities of relational abuse.

By the Way we hope will be, and is, such a developing community, where we can walk, or perhaps stumble, towards a great understanding of support and forgiveness made possible through Christ.

Last Night's Bible Study: Managing Your Finances

Last night's bible passages (see previous post) got us thinking about how we manage the resources we have. How might we do things differently if we start out knowing that all we have belongs to God and is just loaned to us for a time? It can be a challenge to live this way in a world that encourages us to see all we have in terms of reward, entitlement, accomplishment... But taking on that challenge can be truly rewarding, especially if we do it together. God reaches out to us through community. We share our struggles, offer each other feedback and insight, and give God's own encouragement to one another.

Studying what the Bible has to say about finances doesn't magically make everything alright. The Bible's not a direct answer book. It's more a book of questions actually, questions that stop us in our tracks and help us to see beyond the dead-end ways of living. When together we ask the questions raised in Scripture, we begin to sort out what fills us with spirit and energy, and what ways leave us drained and despairing.

This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you, God gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God... so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God. (from 2 Corinthians 9)

Robust in God... I like the sound of that. Living gratefully and generously: that sounds like real living to me. But I know I can't live that way on my own. I need God's people who will surround and fill me with God's passionate love for me and all creation.

Please consider joining us next Wednesday, 7:30pm, at Panera on 101A (near Target), for next week's chance to consider how life and God's word intersect.

~ Kari Henkelmann Keyl

Wednesday Conversation Info: Managing My Finances

Join us Wednesday evening (7:30-8:30 PM), at Panera on 101A in Nashua as we focus on our financial health.

First we will take a look at how to make the most out of what we have as we look at a brief passge from Matthew (click here to read it: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025:%2014-30;&version=65)

Then we talk about "reaping what we sow" (click here to read: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%209:%206-15;&version=65;)

See you then!

Just who do you think you are?

Just who do you think you are?

Does anyone make it through life without having some impassioned person ask them that question? Whether it’s asked by a teacher or a parent, a colleague who disagrees with you, or just a pushy bully, it’s a question that stops you in your tracks, or tries to anyway.

Suddenly you’re vulnerable. Your identity is hanging out there in the air. Undefined. Challenged. Waiting.

Do you ever hear anyone say the opposite?

Just who do you think I am?

The one who asks this question is opening him-or-herself up for whatever may come. Unarmed. But still strong, confident... while his/her identity is floating in space, waiting for someone to snatch it up, take a look, make a comment.

There’s a great story of Jesus’ teaching exploits (click on the title of this post to read the passage) in which he invites his students to take a swipe at his identity. He takes them out for a walk, about a 16 mile walk, from the safety of home turf into the eeriness of the enemy’s land, where strange gods are worshiped in strange ways. And your God is nowhere to be seen, or so it seems.

Just who do you think I am? comes the question, from Rabbi Jesus to his walking-buddy students. Star pupil Peter grabs the chance to define the one he follows: You’re the messiah, Jesus, the one who’s saving us. You're the one who connects us to the living God!

Peter’s got it exactly right. He’s so right that Jesus is sure that God’s own voice is speaking through Peter, that Peter couldn’t possibly have done it on his own.

But the mood of the moment abruptly shifts when Jesus starts saying exactly what it means to be the messiah of the living God. Talk about vulnerability… Being identified as the messiah is not a power trip at all. It means giving up power, at least the way that the world thinks of power.

It means loving till it hurts, giving yourself away completely, being so connected to the all-giving God that you’d do anything to get others connected. Even if that means suffering, dying, and relying totally on God to raise you back up. Peter doesn’t deal well with this. He wants to define Jesus’ identity in his own way: plugged into God’s power but protected from the dangers Jesus sees coming. Peter eventually figures it all out, but for now, he’s left hanging. His own identity as Jesus’ follower has been shaken. But sometimes you need to have your assumptions shaken, on the road to figuring out who you are.

Teacher Jesus, I ask you today: Who do you think I am? How do you see me fitting into your scheme of things? Give me some clues, open my eyes, show me who I am and how I can be your follower. Pour your power into me, so I can love the world you so love. Give your life to me, so I can give my life to others.

~ Kari Henkelmann Keyl

Bible Study: Dealing with My Health

This week we were looking at two passages that address health and wholeness.

It's worth taking a moment to think how you are when you get sick. Do all things come to a stop as people pamper you, or do you become like Oscar the Grouch? We all deal with personal illness differently. The other day, a person talking about patient-doctor relationships said that often we wait to talk to a physician because we are afraid of not knowing what is going on. It is fascinating to think that the body we own can be such a confusing thing! Such must have been the case with this man in John's Gospel (scriptures are linked in Tuesday's blog announcement) who had been an invalid for 38 years! That is a long time, but what striks you about this healing? How do you characterize this interchange between the man and Jesus? I am always amazed at how others respond to these miraculous healings. How is this similar to how we experience dramatic healthcare improvements? What are some things about your own health that cause you stress? How can you overcome this anxiety?

For part of an answer to that last question it is worth taking a look at Paul's reminder that "when we are weak, then we are strong." Has there ever been anything in your expereince that finds that statement to be true? How have you seen, or experienced God working in and through you during a time of weakness? How can you trust God in those moments?

Feel free to share your observations/thoughts here as we head into the weekend.

Wednesday Conversation Info: Dealing With My Health

This Wednesday we will gather at Panera on 101A to share thought about health and the pressures that go along with related issues.

Take a look at the story of this healing in John 5: 1-15 (http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=John+5). Pay attention to how this healing is viewed by others.

And then we will gain a sign of hope from the New Testament's great cheerleader, Paul (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%2012:%201-10&version=65) who is writing here to the church at Corinth (2 Corinthians 2: 1-10).

We meet from 7:30 to about 8:30 or so.

Steve-o's Devos: A Daily Offering

How do you wake up each morning? Are you one of those jump out of bed and take on the day sort of people? Or do you more reluctantly slide out and stumble about until finding the right amount of caffeine to get you started? At different points in my life, I have to admit that both of those ways of greeting the day have been possible. When I was a kid, getting up early for school often felt like a chore. When I was older, I used to accompany my father down to the local cafe for coffee and conversation with other folks that met there. It was a chance to seem like an adult and to spend time with my dad too. I think sometimes he tried to go earlier and earlier just to see if I was still going to get up and be ready when he left.

Depending on where you are on any given day, a new morning can be quite an amazing thing. It gives you a chance to "do-over" the stuff you did wrong the day before, or it gives you a chance to do something new. Face it though, there are days when we wish we should have stayed in bed, days when we had a big test or job interview coming up, days when a major event was causing us stress... It is hard to start the day when we begin it with any sort of anxiety and expect that it can turn out with a great result. Ever find yourself saying or thinking, "I just need to get through this day!"

This is where Paul's reminder (click on the title above) from Romans is so amazing and encouraging. Paul reminds us that each day is a gift but we need to be able to take our everyday, ordinary way of living and place it before God as an offering. "Here, take my day and use it as you will, God." Paul encourages us to not let our surrounding culture drag us down into its level of immaturity and fancifulness. Something perhaps easier to say than do.

But these thoughts from Paul do make a lot of sense and made me think of the Olympic games going on now. Though not much of a sports fan, I have found myself drawn to several of the events as they appear on television. There is something intricately engaging in watching people at the top of their game, sharing their gifts in such a public way. What strikes me is the sideline commentary. Sportscasters no doubt are doing there job talking while something few people watching understand plays out on the athletic stage. Too often though, the commentators share asides about a particular athlete's performance that seems almost minuscule in comparison to the accomplishment. Yes, it is a "competition" to see who is the greatest at their sport, but is it not also just a wonderful opportunity to know you are surrounded by the best athletes in your field?

There have been a couple of times when I wondered what the relationships were with the athlete and their coach, especially when the coach was their parent. If they had not gotten a medal, would they still feel loved? valued? Or would they return home feeling like a failure thinking a bronze was not good enough? It is food for thought.

So while I have been watching the games, I also wondered what it might be like if we had our own on-side commentators following our every day moves. Think about this for a minute. "Steve has begun his day there, and, oops, dropped the soap now that is going to cost him some time. Looks like one of the cats has left him a little treat on the floor to clean up this morning, so he may have to skip breakfast today and grab something on the road if he still wants to get to his meeting on time today. Now it looked like maybe he would not have to do that earlier, but hitting that snooze button twice really put him back time-wise. Well, he's now in his car and...WOW, did you see that, no cars coming and he could just coast right out onto the road there and he's taking the shortcut so that will help add some time to his day." Well you get the drift.

If we spent all of our time worrying about the people in our lives who comment from the sidelines we really would not be able to focus on who we are called to be. Paul illustrates this perfectly in this passage from Romans (chapter 12, verses 1-8). Each of us has something to offer and we get meaning in our lives by living out the part that we are to play to the fullest. We offer our day as an opportunity to live out our giftedness so that we may fully be who we are. Paul's final reminder is that we should do things joyously, with a smile on our face no matter what may happen along the way. (I think that is why I always like the character Jim on The Office!)

How appropriate then that we are gathering to talk about life's pressures. Pressures often felt because we either overhear, or think we know the running critical commentary of those around us. Consider smiling a bit more...at the very least, everyone will wonder what you are up to! Amen.

Bible Study: Coping with Crisis

This week's Bible study focuses on dealing with difficult situations (links for the passages are in Tuesdays announcement).

The first story comes from Genesis where future patriarch Joseph finds himself in a rather difficult situation. His employer's wife lusts after him and tries to seduce him causing Joseph to have to struggle with his moral center. Joe has had quite a turnaround in his fortune up to that point, though he is essentially a slave life is better than it might have been for the young man. One wonders if Joe asked himself how God could have put him in this situation and as you take a look at this you may wish to reflect on times when you too have wondered why God "let this happen." though this story focuses on sexual temptation, it is a good time to consider how you are tempted in your own life. What pressures cause you to perhaps compromise your own personal moral center or convictions? How do you resist temptation? How can you sense that God is with you even during these times of your life?

With this in mind we turn to the first chapter of 2 Corinthians where Paul is once again writing words of comfort to people who are troubled. It might be worth taking a moment to think about what expression of caring you found most comforting when you were a child. How did that feel or look like? Where can you receive that same sense of healing and comfort now in your life? Are there pressures in your life right now that are causing you despair? How do you respond to those pressures? Do you find they deepen your sense of God's presence or tend to drive you away from faith? Why do you think that happens? How can you pray for people who are stuggling through times of despair or who are dealing with extra pressures in their life?

Well, those are plenty of questions for reflection and thought.

Join us next week on Wednesday night when we talk about pressures related to our health.

May the Best Underdog Win

I’m a little late at getting into the Olympics, I know. The hoopla about the opening ceremonies… the air pollution reports… the gold medal speculations: just a backround noise to me. But then last night my husband called me into the TV room with that tone of voice that told this non-TV-watcher there was no doubt that I should race to the screen.

Yep, volleyball. Can’t resist it. I couldn’t care less that the American duo looked strong against the Cuban team. I just love to watch the game. I’m there on the sand, making the moves, shifting in the direction of the dives, admiring the impossibly quick reflexes and the sharp vision that it takes to find the holes in your adversary’s offense. I was rooting for the losers so the game could go on longer. I always do.

But more than that: I’m a sucker for the underdogs. When NCAA basketball is all over the news, my ears only listen for the Gonzagas, George Masons, and Valparaisos. Even when the Red Sox were about to break their 86 year accursed streak, and I was thrilling for the moment the victory would be official, I still pulled for those Cardinals to at least come out with some dignity.

Yesterday I heard on the news that India had won its first ever Olympic gold. That got my heart beating faster than all the announcements of American gold probably will. Good for you, India. Go Underdogs!

Am I out in left field? Can anyone else relate to this? Or does the everyone-loves-a-winner philosophy totally dominate? I tend to think I’m not alone. Otherwise movies like Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre would never have been made. Who doesn’t know the feeling of being a loser, the outsider, the one who shovels out mush to orphans while dreaming of being a hero in their eyes?

I get pretty agitated when people make the assumption that the winners of our world are God’s pals while the losers have been forgotten at best, are being punished at worst. I don’t pretend to have all the answers about why our world seems so unbalanced between winners and losers, but I know that my God hangs in the dust with the losers, loving them to pieces, somehow working good out of the awfulness of humanity’s self-serving choices.

And I know that when I’m at my lowest points of loserhood… I have two streams of thought warring against each other. Number One: God, what good are you anyway? Number Two: I know you’re here, God, and you’ll love me through this one, too.

In other words… when I’m most underdog-ish, I’m most in danger of rejecting faith… but at the same time, I’m most ready to receive God’s tender care and experience the power of faith like never before.

It’s Jesus who keeps me going, keeps me from being overpowered by "Number One" while I find my way to "Number Two". It’s Jesus who has shown and keeps showing me that God’s heart beats for the weak ones, the vulnerable ones, the ones on the edge about to fall. And this heart isn’t oozing out sappy enabling sympathy. It’s pouring out new life, new choices, new dignity for the loser who no longer is one.

Consider this. Jesus and his disciples encounter a bigtime loser, a loud and obnoxious screamer who keeps harping on them to heal her scary little demon-harassed girl. Jesus could have just doled out a cure, as easy as dropping some coins into a beggar’s cup. He opts for a complete faith-overhaul for everyone within shouting distance. But to do that he’s got to take a risk. He stops to talk to the freaky woman, confident that this underdog’s got something to teach the high-and-mighties around her.

Jesus spars with her, engaging her in a verbal match of wits that’s bound to draw in plenty of nosy people who’ve been itching to have someone shut her up. He starts with what looks like a typical put-down to push her away.

I’m just here for my own people, not for your kind. But he must have said it with a sparkle in his eye, because she takes it as an invitation. She stops demanding his attention and comes quietly closer. Lord, help me…

Jesus goes right on with the tongue-in-cheek goading, not as if she’s a pain he’s putting up with, but as a respected conversation partner he’s having fun with. It’s not right to take food from your own kids and throw it to the dogs. Her clever comeback, sticking with his metaphor: Yeah… but even the dogs under the table get some of the goods, right?

Such an exchange would have been the talk of the town already, but then Jesus tops it off by declaring her the winner of the jousting match. My dear woman, that’s some faith you’ve got there! I’ll give you whatever you want!

Not only does Jesus have time for the desperate loser, he delights in the interaction. He acknowledges her dignity. He graces the underdog with a gold medal for everyone to see. And there’s healing flowing out all over the place.

It flows right out of the Bible’s pages, all over little old me and all the other beggars hanging out under tables.

Jesus, bring me healing. Lift me up. Show me the underdogs who need me to hold out a hand of kindness and dignity. Open me up, to receive the welcome you offer, the faith I can hold onto. In your name I pray.

~Kari Henkelmann Keyl

Wednesday Conversation Info: Coping With Crisis

This Wednesday evening, we will gather at Panera on 101A in Nashua for our second Bible Study conversation night. How are you dealing with the pressures of the world right now? World? What about just life on a day-to-day basis? Well we will spend some time building one another up to take on what life throws at us.

If you'd like to check out the passages for this week take a look first at one of the earliest recorded examples of sexual harrasment! (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2039&version=65)

Then we will gain some hope from Paul's letter to the church in Corinth (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20corinthians%201;&version=65;).


See you then!

Bible Study: Making a Living

Extending our conversations that are scheduled for Wednesday nights, Thursday's blog will feature some of our thoughts and questions for reflection here. Scriptures are listed in Wednesday's blog (linked for your convenience). So feel free to share your thoughts here. (A brainstorm yesterday was figuring out a way to do this on-line live....ideas?)

First off some thoughts about the 2 Kings passage that talks about a widow in desperate financial straits. She comes to Elisha hoping for a solution to her debt and the story slowly, and oddly, unfolds. Elisha invites her to think about her most valuable commodity and then finds a way to turn that into a source of income that can help get her back on track. With this in mind, how do you view money and the thigns you own in your life? Does your money hinder or help you to trust God? (Do you trust God more when it seems you have lots of money and less when you have none? Or do you find yourself turning to God only when things are difficult?) Take some time to reflect on what you might be "low on" in your life (oil, money, love, patience, time, energy, work, friends, income, etc.). God uses the widow's limited resources in this story to solve her problem. What resource in your life might God use to provide for you? What is most difficult about trying to start out on your own once you leave for college, or even leave college to live by yourself?

Now on to the second reading which comes from Ephesians 4. Here Paul is writing from prison to a group of Christians that he had worked with earlier. There are obviously somethings going wrong there and Paul is trying to call them back together and get them on the right path. What do you see here that helps point toward creating unity in this group? (How might that help us at BTW?) Are there places in your life that you feel you are yet to live up to your "calling"? How can you work toward developing into the person God is calling you to be?

Deep questions for thought this week. And did anyone not sort of find it amusing that the widow has a gas shortage? Seems a bit funny given recent world events to read this story now, don't you think? Feel free to share what the 2 Kings story might have to say during the "world energy crisis".

Wednesday Conversation Info: Making a Living

For those of you planning to join us for tonight's conversation at Panera (on 101A), or if you can't be there but want to just read along for reflection at home, we will be looking at two Bible passages.

2 Kings 4: 1-7 (Oil Shortage hits Home) (http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=2+kings+4)
Ephesians 4:1-16 (Which Road are you on?) (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%204&version=65)

Steve-o's Devos: Calm in the Midst of Pressure

This week, we begin a new weekly Bible Study at By The Way that focuses on dealing with Life's Pressures. At first, in the "dog days" of summer, you might think that pressures seem to recess a bit. For some reason, we tend to move a bit slower in the summer, perhaps because we have all lived the first part of our lives in the hustle and bustle of the academic calendar since Kindergarten (or earlier for some of us!). We get that minimum 2 month summer break and our families also have to readjust their lives as well. So it often means a vacation here or there, or at least more time spent together as a family.

Yet, life's pressures don't go away and if you even casually pay attention to the news, people are dealing with all sorts of pressures that seem to begin with the increased costs felt in their budgets. Budgets? If you are an average person even having a budget is seemingly a long way off. Perhaps the biggest shift in our culture these past few months has been from anxiety of the unseen (fears of security, and a "surprise attack") to anxiety based on real tangible stress (cost of gas, food, housing).

Think about this for just a minute. It is very easy to convince people to be afraid of something they feel they cannot control and to accept the controls imposed to help "keep them safe." It is much harder to convince people that things "are ok" when they begin to sense something is not right in their own everyday lives and every decision seems connected to their personal choices.

Believe it or not, this does relate to a reading from Matthew's Gospel (linked for your reference). Jesus has been under some pressure as he and his group of followers move from town to town and talk with different people--they had just fed 5000 people and healed a lot of the sick too. So Jesus takes a little vacation, if you will. He heads up to a mountain to spend some one-on-one time. (There is something about getting away from it all and heading into nature that does seem to bring you a new perspective.) His friends, perhaps a little disconcerted, decide to go boating. Many were familiar with a life involving water and boating so it seemed like a logical choice. Plus, they probably just felt like taking a nice little ride instead of walking, with Jesus, to the other side.

So Jesus heads into the mountains and plans to meet up with them later. All this happens in Matthew's story in a single sentence!

Now things get a little crazy. While out on the water, a storm brews up. Soon water is crashing over the sides of the boat. You would think that these guys, many experiences with the ways of boating and similar storms, would have been able to handle it. But they panic. And in the midst of the windy night they see Jesus coming towards them on the water!

Peter, always trying to prove his worth, realizes it is not a ghost but Jesus himself. He jumps over the side of the boat, much to the amazement of the rest who certainly think he is crazy. While he keeps his eyes on Jesus all seems to go well. It must have been quite a fantastical scene these two men walking on water. But when Peter takes his eyes of Jesus he begins to sink and must rely on Jesus to come to his rescue since no one else dares to jump in to help.

Once Jesus grabs Peter's hand and they get into the boat, the wind dies down. Now, I don't know about you, but if I was in a boat tossed about that suddenly came completely still, that would be more frightening than even what I had just witnessed.

But maybe that says a bit more about me. Sometimes we thrive on the business and hustle of daily lives because it is often easier to be busy than to suddenly be struck still. When things die down we are forced to look at what we do with our time, how we work on our relationships. We are not really good with that quiet still time. Even harder is finding time to be calm when the many pressures of our life surround us.

It is perhaps a good time then in the midst of the mostly calm summer, that we take a moment on our vacation, to see if we can put Jesus in our boat and sail out into a calmer water filled with different perspectives on living. What do you think?

Steve-o

Keeping it Together When Life is Falling Apart

Ever felt that you were having a "panic attack"?

Wondering about those piles of dirty laundry and searching for some quarters?

Has the leaky plumbing in your home finally revealed itself by flooding your favorite room?

Did you just get an oil change to discover your car is nearing that "broken beyond repair" mode?

Is your checkbook a disaster?

Is your health a model of what not to do?

Do you find yourself saying, "Surely I am a capable person, but how can I survive on my own?"

Well, starting in August, By the Way will host some conversation times at Panera on 101 A. We will start at 7:30 PM and focus on some things can share about the pressures that we all face.

Each week on Thursdays, we'll share a little about some of our discoveries and we'll post updates to our conversation topic here on the blog each week as a reminder.

Here is the schedule so you can plan a brief moment each week to re-center your life:

Aug. 6: Making a Living

Aug. 13: Coping with Crisis

Aug. 20: Dealing with My Health

Aug. 27: Managing My Finances
Sep. 3: Dealing with Family Issues

Sep. 10: Handling My Emotions

Join us for one, a couple, or all, and bring a friend.

Back to the Shore

There's something appealing about the fact that even Jesus had to get away from it all sometimes. I'm often drawn to the story from Matthew's gospel (chapter 14, starting at verse 13) where Jesus is told some terrible news, and he chooses to take off in a boat to be alone.

The story has a gruesome prologue, one I don't like to dwell on. A relative and colleague of Jesus has just been brutally murdered out of petty vengeance. Pretty awful. An incredible waste of human life and charismatic talent. The victim's name was John: teacher, baptizer, powerfully challenging speaker. And John's students come running to give Jesus the scoop on what's been happening.

We don't know exactly how Jesus is feeling when he hears about John's death. We know only that his response is immediate: I'm outta here. He glides his craft out onto the waves, ready for some alone time.

This is one of those Scripture scenes that can be a lifeline for me. I can climb into the boat with friend Jesus, feeling the anguish of losing a loved one, hearing the soothing sounds of lapping water, taking deep breaths of the calming sea air. I'm filled with the relief of being alone yet accompanied, peace and storm living inside of me at the same time.

But this moment will not last forever. It can't last. There's a fine line between healthy retreating and unhealthy escaping. At some point I need to be called back into life.

When Jesus brings his boat into harbor, he sees lots of people there to meet him. They also have heard about John's death, but their response is quite different. The last thing they want is to be alone. Jesus' insides are torn up when he sees them. They need him so much. He brings them healing. And they have called him back into life.


O Living One, I come to you in this moment, to be refreshed by your Spirit. I'm so grateful that whenever I need retreat, you take me there and you accompany me. Walk with me in every moment. Open my ears to hear you calling, calling me into life... a life where I receive your healing and then can be healing others.

~Kari Henkelmann Keyl

Thursday Thoughts

I wonder why you care, God--
why do you bother with us at all?
All we are is a puff of air;
we're like shadows in a campfire.

I was reading Eugene Peterson's version of Psalm 144 -- just opened up The Message to a random page -- while I waited for my computer to find the website I wanted. And these four lines grabbed my attention.

Like shadows in a campfire... quite an image. Ever felt that way? Like your life and all its accomplishments were as lasting as the illusive shifts of flickering flames?

It's a humbling thought. Humbling can be good in small doses. Depressing in large doses, sure. But I don't mind being humbled if I can feel safe at the same time.

If I'm meeting with my boss, and she's someone I greatly admire, I'll feel that appropriate humility, since she's in the big time and I'm doing the small stuff. If she's one known to throw around her power, that humility is a frightening, smallifying thing. But if I know her to be compassionate and fair, someone I deeply trust, someone who's doing an incredible job at her level while respecting my contribution as well... then the humbling feels right.

Today I'll be packing up the tent and sleeping bag to do some camping over the weekend. One of the things I most look forward to is sitting by the campfire, feeling that sense of utter calm, mesmerized by the dancing flames. Loving the beyond-description beauty. Each flame, each shadow, contributing it's own illusive color to the canvas.

I wonder why you care, God... Are you mesmerized by the dance of humanity, by all of us individual flames, so fleeting, so small, yet each distinct in its beauty? How amazing you are that you can love us, each one of us, and treasure us in your heart. I can't fully understand you, but I can trust you. I trust you to hold little me as precious, to value my contribution to the whole. Help me hold on to this trust, to feel safe, to know that even though my life here on earth is short, that my life in you will dance on and on...

If you find some time this weekend to sit quietly and imagine your place, and God's place, in the universe... I hope you'll feel free to share your musings here. Have a good one.

Peace,
Kari

Steve-o's Devos: This is Not What I Ordered

There is something I'd like you to think about for just a minute. When was the last time you received something different from what you expected to get? Maybe it was a meal at a restaurant, a gift, a promotion....but take a moment to recall that to mind.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to begin doing some home music recording from my piano here at home. I knew I needed some specific software to help me achieve this goal and I wanted something quite specific. Of course, I did not want to spend a lot of money on software. I just wanted an easy to use, cheap way to record music. Through the miracle of the internet, I was able to find and download something almost immediately. "Record your music in minutes" was one of the promises on the site among many others.

Oh the excitement that built up as I watched the installation take place. In literally five minutes I would have located, downloaded, and opened this new piece of software. This program would make all my hopes and expectations come true. I knew deep down inside that this would be the time saving piece I needed to realize what I had hoped to accomplish. Well, as you can expect, the easiest part of the whole process was the installation. Four days of reading manuals, trying special plug-ins for my computer, contacting the software company, and a host of work around solutions from their message board still resulted in little change. With the help of one of my musical and techno-savvy friends I was finally able to get things to work. But from within minutes of downloading this program I was saying (well at teams screaming!) "this is not what I ordered! This is not working as it should." How hard would I have to work to get something to happen that I wanted and did I have the right skills to get the job done?

Those were good questions and also moves us in to recall a little story from Genesis about Jacob. Jake one day sees a beautiful woman and desires very much to make her his wife. But his father-in-law to be, Laban, is not about to just hand his daughter over in marriage even if Jake is a distant relative. How stricken was Jake? Well, he agrees to work for Laban for 7 years in order to prove he is worthy of Rachel, this beautiful girl. What father would resist such cheap labor.

Seven years pass and soon its time for the wedding day. Jake can hardly wait. But as soon as the veil of his new bride is lifted, he discovers that he has married Rachel's older sister, Leah! (This is of course on the day after the wedding.) Now, the Bible does not say that Leah was ugly. In fact, even as crazy as Jake likely was on his wedding night, he did not notice the difference. So they must have been quite similar in the looks department. Still, it was quite a trick that Laban pulls on him. Jake awakes to discover, this is not the woman I worked so hard for! But he must strike another deal with Laban who agrees he can marry Rachel after another 7 years of servitude. Jake does and in this early tribal system is able to finally marry Rachel. That must have been one interesting family to be around.

Now I don't mean to compare marriage with downloading software off the internet, or belittle the weirdness of this story to modern ears. But there is something to be said of what we do see here. When we don't get what we want, or get something different than we expected, we have to make some important decisions. How we respond to the situation says a lot about our character and perhaps a little bit more about our faith.

I think this story is here for us to think about patience a little. I find it amusing that 14 years goes by in less than so many verses of scripture, but that suggests that there is something else intended by this story than just historical narrative of Israel's past.

Time allows us some perspective always. No matter what is going on today in our lives, we tend to forget that their are cycles and rhythms to our lives. This is always clear when we take time to talk with people of older generations who have been around a lot longer than any of us. Seven years may seem like along time, when you are 7, but when you are 70, those same years flit by rather quickly.

Sometimes we do not get what we think we wanted. And sometimes we are able to exchange the "mistake" for something else. This story is a reminder to take time to think about what we believe we need or desire and to consider if it is truly all that we think it to be. The relationships in our lives are there to see us through when life throws us a bit of a curve and when we are connected to one another we gain a perspective otherwise missing.

It is the same for those who follow Jesus. Jesus tries time and again to warn his disciples that the life they think he is talking about is not what they are going to expect. Things will be different once you follow Jesus but it will never be what you think it should be, or want it to be. Along the way though, what you thought you ordered might not have been what you needed after all....Amen.