Unrevealed Until Its Season Something God Alone Can See

I just thought I would take a moment to share with you some neat pictures.  Spring is my favorite time of year (minus the pollen).  God is an amazing painter, and this world is one heck of a canvas!  Enjoy!

That's our house in the background!

Miss Kitty and her baby Pandora

Baby Pandora exploring

Pretty Flower

she's growing up so fast... *sniff*

Photographs of God

According to Facebook, I have been married 321 days!  That is the craziest thought in the world to me.  April 14th is our "dating" anniversary, and May 23rd is our wedding anniversary.  It is crazy how time flies.  Looking back at our wedding day, I remember thinking just how fast the day went by.  All that planning, and coordinating, and shopping, and making sure that everything was perfect, and as soon as the day began, it was over.

Thank goodness for photographs, though.  Cameras have to be one of the best inventions ever.  It's amazing how far the technology has progressed.  I remember when I got my first digital camera... It was about 3.5 megapixels and at the time THAT was amazing.  My very first camera, however, was one of those small rectangular ones that used the 100 speed film.  You even had to have the extra flash attachment to make it work right in darker settings.  Now, I have a 12 megapixel camera that takes phenomenal pictures, and it certainly gets its use, because I take pictures of EVERYTHING.

Looking back at our wedding day, I certainly couldn't tell you half of the details of how things went and I couldn't tell you who all was there, but the photographs certainly help to let me see my wedding day, the way everyone else saw it.  Of course, I DID have the best view, standing at the front of the altar, looking into Nathan's eyes, and pledging our love to one another before God and before our families and friends.  But photographs are special.  One of the neatest things we did at our wedding was get personalized disposable cameras and placed them on all the tables.  I know, it's nothing original because people do it all the time, but it gave us pictures of our wedding from the perspectives of the people who were there.  I have two whole albums filled with those pictures.  There were also tons of pictures on Facebook as well as pictures that were went to us from family and friends, all of which help to build an amazing memory of the most special day of my life.

But there is something theological about a photograph, the way it captures one tiny millisecond in history and allows us to look back with an emotional attachment to that one little moment.  To me, scripture is like that, too.  Scripture catches a moment in history and depending what you are going through at the time you read it, or depending on your perspective and memory that scripture may mean something different to you than it does to someone else.  The Bible is composed of writing by many authors, each with a little camera that God has given them to capture God in the world and to show God to those who may have missed Him.  Many different perspectives come together in this one work that we call the Bible, something central to our faith and understanding of God.  We may not be able to look back at times in our lives, and remember every detail.  We may not be able to look back at our tough moments, or our happy moments and see God right there, but scripture points us in the right direction and shows us where God is working in our lives.  We may not see God face to face, but scripture sure does give us a nice photograph.

Wii Fit Accountability

At the beginning of the year, I joined in with the hype of the millions of other New Year's Resolution fanatics and decided that this year I was going to get in shape and get healthy.  Nathan and I got a gym membership, we bought healthy food, and I also got a Wii fit for Christmas.  For the first couple months we were doing really well.  We went to the gym, we exercised, we did everything we were supposed to do.  But then, something happened, and we just lost our motivation.... sad confession:  we haven't been in over a month to the gym.

Well, the other day I turned on the Wii to play my Ninja Turtles fight game, when I noticed the little box for Wii fit plus yelling at me.  I tried to avert my eyes, pressing buttons faster so that I could get away from that stressful main screen.  Scrolling along the box was "it's been 5 weeks since your last workout."  I felt so gross, and so huge, just because of the fact that it had pointed this out to me.  Have I gained weight?  No.  Have I increased jeans size?  No.  Do I need to lose weight?  Not really, I'm right where I'm supposed to be.  But do I need to keep myself healthy and get in shape?  Absolutely!

That silly little Wii box stressed me out so much.  I don't know why really, other than the fact that the Wii fit plus was the only thing holding me accountable.  The fun part, was that I could turn it off and ignore it without hurting it's feelings.  But it was too late, it had gotten to me.

Then, this morning, during my break between classes, I called my husband to say hello, to see how work was going for the day.  The first thing he asked me was if I wanted to go back to the gym tomorrow.  Instantly, I felt that stress again, the pressure of having to get dressed and drive all the way to the gym, and I started making a slew of excuses as to why I didn't have time to go tomorrow.

After I hung up the phone I went to McDonalds on campus and ordered some delicious nuggies and fries, with sweet tea and BBQ sauce.  As soon as I sat down, I felt so gross.  Sure the food was delicious, but I realized that the little bit of accountability from the Wii Fit Plus and also from Nathan was all that I needed to get back in gear with going to the gym.  The funny part is that I really do love going.  I feel so free of stress and anxiety when I'm on the treadmill, listening to my Ipod and going as fast (slow) as my short little legs will carry me.

Just to be clear, I have been running recently.  Although I should probably clarify that as well.  Two weeks ago I went for a 2 mile run with my dog... I was exhausted afterwards, and my Nike+ Ipod app informed me that it was the slowest I had ever run, and that I was, in fact, a failure at life.

SO... back to the gym I will go.  I have been held accountable... I have been motivated... and I'm looking forward to being able to fit in a bathing suit when we go to Williamsburg for our anniversary next month.  Accountability is funny isn't it?  Maybe sometimes all we need is that little scrolling reminder at the bottom of the screen telling us to get off our butts and stop making excuses.

Dodging Tires

Just to let everyone know how my day is starting out, I thought I would share what happened to me on my way to school this morning.  Driving down I40/I85 on my way to Durham I was listening to the music on my Ipod, singing and having a good time.  I was in a good mood and ready for my day.  But all of a sudden, a truck in front of me began screeching on the brakes and smoke encompassed the road.  It took me a minute to realize that his right front tire had exploded, not just popped, but exploded and pieces were flying everywhere.  Then the left front tire exploded too, and more stuff went flying everywhere.  My windshield was hit with a few pieces, making an already-existing crack on the windshield even worse.

Suddenly I heard a horrendous noise and realized that another piece had hit the front of my car and then I proceeded to run over it.  Needless to say it scared the crap out of me.  I immediately took the next exit to try to get off the road.  I stopped at a gas station, got out, walked around and checked the car and their didn't appear to be any physical damage.  But when I got back in the car there was a little warning light flashing like crazy.  I went ahead and drove to school since I was only about ten minutes away at the time of the incident.  

Of course this would happen at a time when I have a million other things going on that I have to worry about.  Now, my post from yesterday is seeming more and more ironic, even funny.  Here's hoping that my car will have some sort of divine healing before I drive home this afternoon...otherwise I will be making a call to Honda roadside assistance after class today.

Oh, and just in case anyone wondered, the guy with the busted tires made it safely to the side of the road, and before I even made it out of the gas station there was a cop there helping him out :)

The Case of the Frozen Air Conditioner

I have never been a patient person.  I try really hard.  In fact, I even used to pray to God to make me a more patient person.  Until one day, I was inspired watching the movie Evan Almighty, in a scene where God explains that if you pray for patience, God doesn't give you patience, rather God gives you the opportunity to be patient.  I don't know how theologically sound that is since it comes from a movie, but nevertheless I liked it.  So I went about my life making sure that I didn't pray for patience, and that way I wouldn't have to encounter an opportunity to be patient.  However, that didn't work.  In the past several weeks God has handed me multiple opportunities to be patient, most of which I have failed miserably at.

But then two days ago, on Monday, the day of the NCAA championship, a day that we were having friends over to watch the game, also a day that was going to be ridiculously hot, 93 degrees to be exact (did I mention it's April?).  On Monday, the air conditioner stopped working.  The fan was running, and there was air coming out of the vents, but it wasn't cold, in fact, it was actually quite warm.  I started worrying and getting upset because I didn't want my house to be 8000 degrees when people were coming over.  I set up fans in the house, and did all that I could to get the house cool and nothing was working.  I turned down the air, I turned it off, I turned it back on to see if that would fix it... but nothing.

Finally I ventured outside only to find a frozen block of ice that used to be an air conditioner sitting in the back yard behind our house.  That's right... the air conditioner was frozen.  I have heard of this sort of thing happening to other people... but never to me.  93 degrees... and the air conditioner was frozen... apparently this happens when the freon leaks out.  I went online and did some research... finding out that repair costs for such a problem were outrageous... and I really didn't have the money to spare.  Finally I found a website saying that all you had to do was to turn the air off completely for 24 hours to give the AC unit a chance to rest, and for the ice to melt... and when you turn it back on, if it works, then the problem is fixed and you won't need a repair.

My patience was being tested... it was a very important night, and I wanted to watch my Blue Devils win the National Championship in the comfort of my air conditioned house.  But alas, I waited... I sat in a stifling house eating my chips and salsa... snacking on melting cookies, and drinking coke that was so warm it melted the ice as soon as you put it in the glass.

I had to wait for 24 whole hours.

So then comes day 2 of no air conditioning.  Fortunately we were going to Duke anyway to welcome home the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor stadium.  That was an amazing experience in itself.  But I digress.  Yesterday it was 98 degrees outside... again have I mentioned that it is APRIL?  We got home to a house that was about 5 million degrees last night and it was too warm outside to open any windows to let air in.

Trembling, shaking... I walked to the thermostat and saw that the temperature was registering higher than the numbers actually go on the thermostat.  I flipped the switch and hoped that we would feel some cold air coming out of the vents.  "Click!"... a few second passed... and there it was COLD AIR... no 500 dollar repair bill... no cussing and yelling and making a big fuss... just a little bit of patience and the problem fixed itself... God must have been really laughing over this one... but that's okay... I now sit in a nicely air conditioned house... sipping on some delightful lemonade... and eating some yummy watermelon... Funny  how much more receptive I am of the hot weather when the air conditioning is actually working.

Blue and White and Blue and White and Blue and White

Tonight is the NCAA tournament championship game, and finally, Duke is in it.  I remember sitting on the couch at our house in Pilot Mountain in 2001 when Duke beat Kentucky for the championship game.  Since then I have been waiting and waiting and waiting to see another National Championship for Duke.  Tonight is the moment of truth.  Tonight, I will wear the same shirt that I have worn for every Duke game this tournament... I'll sit on the couch with some friends, some cocktail weinies, and some chips and salsa, and I'll cheer on my team like I've never cheered them on before.

Is it wrong for a preacher to be so faithful to her team?  I think not!  So for tonight, I am no longer Laura the preacher.  Tonight, I am Laura the Blue Devil.  Let's go Duke, send that Cinderella story back home and beat those Butler Bulldogs like you've never beaten a team before.  Let's Go Duke!

This Holy Mystery

I have often wondered why it is that we stop celebrating Easter as soon as Easter day itself ends.  It has just never made sense to me.  It's just like Christmas; you have all this preparation for one day, and as soon as the day passes, we no longer think about it and instead we quickly move on to the next holiday.  I think as pastors we have a responsibility to educate people in the church about our liturgical calendar.  Talking about the "season" of Easter, or the "season" of Pentecost is a totally ambiguous subject for most people.  Schools let out the week before Easter for Spring Break (which by the way, I always hated as a kid, because we could never go anywhere since my Dad was a pastor, and was obligated to be at Holy Week services each night) and as soon as Easter passes school is back in session.  But I think we have it all wrong.  

Yesterday was just the beginning of the season of Easter.  For 50 days we celebrate the risen Christ, with a sense of angst and wondering about what is to come next.  After those 50 days we enter into the season of Pentecost, remembering how the Holy Spirit made it's presence known through speaking in tongues, and other spiritual gifts.  These seasons are important because they prompt us to think.  Sure Christ was risen from the dead some 2,000 years ago, so maybe we have lost the true meaning  of an empty tomb; we think we know the ending of the story and we don't really pause to think about what it means.  The purpose of the season of Easter is to be reminded of Christ's promise, that he isn't done with us.  Christ has promised to return.

As United Methodists, we have a specific set of liturgy that we use when we come to the table for the Lord's Supper, but what I think is one of the most important moments is when we proclaim the mystery of faith:  "Christ has died.  Christ has risen.  Christ will come again."  I would bargain to say that until this line is pointed out in our liturgy, most people really don't pay attention to what they are saying here.  We are saying that Christ will, in fact, return to this Earth.  The resurrection from the dead that we celebrate on Easter is not just something that happened 2,000 years ago, but is something that will happen again in the future.  The fact that we don't know the time or the place means that maybe we should be a little more on our toes.

I think that maybe we take advantage of the fact that we are "Easter people" (as many church signs like to put it).  Sure we are saved by the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ, but that's not the only thing we need to know in life.  We shouldn't just take that knowledge and go on living our life any way we want to.  Instead, we should realize that God had to do something dramatic to change the world and to break the hold that sin had on us.  This wasn't a small step for man, rather it was a giant leap for humanity.  Without God's saving grace and action at Easter, where would we be?

Hasn't anyone ever wondered why Christ is coming back?  It's because there is still work to do.  Sure we are saved by faith, but that is because our works could never repay the debt we owe because of our sinfulness.  But if we truly have faith in God shouldn't that change us?  Shouldn't that make us look at the world a little differently? Shouldn't we care for God's children a little differently?  What about creation?  We already messed up Eden, shouldn't we be working to make this place a little better?

Easter is about new life, and about a new chance to break old habits, and to be resurrected from our old selves into something new.  How is Easter changing you this year?  You have 50 days to think about it (wink wink).  Be something different and always remember this mystery of faith.  Christ has died.  Christ has risen.  Christ WILL come again!  Alleluia, Praise be the Lord!