Raspberry Jelly

Once upon a time, I made homemade jelly from some berries I picked. It was one of the most wonderfully spiritual experiences of my life. And yes, I'm a mountain girl. This is how we do...

So you're probably thinking right now that you don't care about my foray into the berry picking/ jelly making business but there's a point here. It's coming.


I found God in the raspberry patch. Here's how:

When you pick raspberries, you look for the blackest ones. The thing is though, that the black ones might be in a cluster of all red ones, and there, in the midst of what looks like unuseful berries, will be the best one of all.

As you venture into the patch, you might start on the fringes, getting the easily accessible berries. After you get all those, you have to climb in, in all the briars and brambles and stickers, and start picking where its a little painful.

It always seems that the best berries are just out of reach. You can see them, but you can't quite pluck them from the plant. You can always go farther.

As you make your retreat from the berry patch, you might have a few scatches on your hands and arms, maybe a thorn in your finger, a few berries smushed into your clothes, and a heck of a feeling of self-satisfaction.

And thus I make a mundane task an experience with God. He's in the small things.

This reminds me of some of my most favorite Scripture, from 1 Kings 19:11-13. So our boy Elijah is out in the wilderness and he's told to go stand out on the mountain because the Lord is going to pass by. So he does (smart boy!) Okay, so Elijah's waiting for God and there comes a "great and powerful wind" but God is not in the wind. And then comes an earthquake, and a tremendous fire, but God is in neither of those. And then comes a "gentle whisper."

And God is in the whisper.

Be open to the small things.

You knew it was coming...

...the inevitable dating post! It's high time I write about the one topic that everyone between the ages of 4 and 102 thinks about many times a day- the opposite sex.

I'm pretty sure that there is something inside most people that compells them to feel a deep, insatiable need to find love (or at least like) from someone not in their family. (Those within the family... a whole different story and this isn't West Virginia. ) Anyway, so we've established that we all feel the need to be loved. The question is how...

Now I'm probably not really the person to give lots of advice on this subject but I can tell you some definite mistakes I've made and seen others make:

1) dating people that don't love God - seems like an insignificant problem until you have a broken heart and you and God aren't where you were. Why would you want to date someone who isn't good for you eternally?
2) dating people you know you would never even want to marry. Um, hello? Biggest waste of time ever... and congratulations, another broken heart.
3) dating someone who doesn't like your friends (unless your friends are jerks.) A good way to end up without a date and without friends
4) dating someone who doesn't like your parents or vice versa. They're your parents. Forever. Find someone who will respect them and will be worthy of their respect.
5) dating someone who doesn't have the same priorities as you. Life isn't perfect and there are going to be problems, but at least aim for the same goals.
6) dating just to be dating. I've spent the bulk of my datable years single. It isn't always fun but it is better than dating someone just because its the thing to do. It's okay to be single.
7) dating someone who plays games (I don't mean xbox). Games that leave you wondering where you stand and make your heart ache. Boys and girls who play games don't stop playing games just because you're officially together.

Okay, so those are my basic guidelines. Maybe they aren't yours but I think they're probably pretty reasonable. I've spent a fair amount of time playing safe to avoid a broken heart and I wouldn't advise that (you just end up lonely) but I would advise being responsible with your heart and with your love. You're worth it.

(beautiful, scandalous night)

go on up to the mountain of mercy
to the crimson perpetual tide
kneel down on the shore
be thirsty no more
go under and be purified

follow Christ to the Holy mountain

sinner, sorry and wrecked by the fall

cleanse your heart and your soul

in the fountain that flows

for you and for me and for all

Chorus

at the wonderful tragic mysterious tree

on that beautiful scandalous night you and me

were atoned by His blood and forever washed white

on that beautiful scandalous night

on the hillside you will be delivered

at the foot of the cross, justified

and your spirit restored

by the river that pours

from our blessed Saviour's side-

Bridge

you carried the sin of mankind on your back

and the sky went black

go on up to the mountain of mercy

to the crimson perpetual tide

kneel down on the shore

be thirsty no more

go under and be purified

(words by s. hindalong) ...a favorite...

arms.

As many of you may have noticed yesterday, there were a lot of people in the world with the word "Love" written on their arms. I was one of them. (Incidently, thanks to the permanent ink I used, I still am...) We did this as a reminder to ourselves to treat everyone with whom we come into contact with love, reminding them that they are wonderful and special.

Last night in the bathtub, I watched the ink rise from my wrist like smoke and dissolve in the water. I began to wonder about the word on my arm. Did I treat people with love yesterday? Do I treat people with love everyday? Do I need a word on my arm to spark conversation or am I a spark?

Was it just a word temporarily written on my arm, or was it an action tattooed on my heart?

These are the things I am wondering about.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Oh, summer...

...is coming. I know that a lot of you have already signed up, but I wanted to use this forum to encourage you to find out about and sign up for Passways camp. And to tell you my Passport story.

Two summers ago I took my youth group to Passport camp (same thing, same people, different name) in Louisville, Kentucky. I had never gone to Passport and I was a little nervous because I didn't know what to expect. And um, I didn't expect the wonderfulness that we got.

Passport/Passways has an amazing summer staff of college and seminary students that are from all over the country. For those of you who are considering going into the ministry, I expect that they will be a great asset for you. These same people lead tremendous worship services. The camp was so well organized and planned that everything just flowed. There was a lot of downtime figured into the schedule so we had plenty of time to just spend with one another and explore Louisville. There was this one really good ice cream place...

Anyway, our work at Passport was amazing. The mission projects that my kids worked on changed them, changed me. Some of us went to a boys home and school for emotionally disturbed kids who were part of the social services system. We spent a week playing with, tutoring, feeding, and loving young boys who had no one. Most of these kids had parents who were dead, in prison, or on drugs. They got into fights and cursed at one another, they cried for no reason, they hadn't been hugged in a long time, no one loved them.

And we got to be Jesus to them. It was an honor.

I hope that you will look at your calendar and try to come to Passways with us this summer. I can promise that even if you aren't in the missions track, you will leave different, blessed by a week of people who love Jesus and love you. Contact us.

not really a dog

So I love watching dog shows. It's weird, I know. I only watch the Westminster but gosh, the past two days have been glorious. I'm a little embarassed that I'm writing this actually.

Anyway, so watching the dog show got me thinking about the judging. The judges in dog shows compare each dog to the ideal definition of what that dog ought to be. Like, the beagle that won for its breed is the very definition of what a beagle should be. Then that dog moves to its group where its perfection is measured against the perfection of the other breeds in that group. Then the winner of the group goes on to the final round where its perfection is compared to all the other group winners's and one will be named "Best in Show." Got all that? The point is that really they are just being compared to their ideal self.

Also tonight, I got coffee with my good friend. This is always a good time of the week for me; she and I sip our coffee, looking all college-ish, and catch up on the events of the week. Tonight's topic was "What is wrong with me and why am I not enough?" Okay, so this really wasn't the pity party that it sounds like (or it was, but that isn't relevant), we were just trying to figure out why we always fall short of who we wish we were and who other people think we ought to be.

I am probably my own harshest critic. I can be really hard on myself. I am realizing though, that I have to judge myself based on...myself. If I am being the very best Jenny Lee that I can be, if I am living up to God's requirements for me, then that is enough. If I am a bulldog, I can't try to fit the definition of a Yorkshire terrier. Even if the Yorkie is ranked higher. God made me to be a bulldog and if I'm trying to be anything else, it's sinful.

I'm learning to be okay with however my bulldog-ness defines me.

ReFlecTIons

First, let me say that I'm sorry there was no Tuesday post. It's been an insane week. Insane, really. Anyway, moving on.

I hope that you all left Wednesday night with a new perspective on Ash Wednesday and the entire Lenten season. Your D-Team leaders should have reviewed some of the points of Ash Wednesday but I want to remind you that this is a good place to leave questions and comments about the service- I'll try to answer everything I can. I would really like to hear some feedback on your thoughts from the service. What did you like? What was confusing? What spoke to you and what got on your nerves?

Also, a lot of you have asked about the Sand Stories that we watched in worship. They are from a guy named Joe Castillo. You can check out his stuff at www.sandstory.com. It is pretty wonderful.

I want to take this opportunity to ask you to all engage in the Lenten season as much as possible. After a few years of learning about and participating in Lent, I have a much different perspective on Easter. I can pretty much assure you that it will be a blessing if you let it.

Let it.