tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70038460339953394502011-04-21T21:23:25.729-07:00LiftUpMyEyesBlogging the Psalms, I am Mom, Wife, Friend and Lutheran Pastor, living in southern WV - where every day I lift up my eyes to the hills which are too glorious to describe. My help comes from the Lord even when I forget to look up. What better place to mine the depths of ancient prayers than in these ancient hills.iliftupmyeyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08448481825169376859noreply@blogger.comBlogger111100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003846033995339450.post-6834389517115342572008-12-02T13:32:00.000-08:002008-12-03T06:08:07.973-08:00Psalm 85, Hold on to that image!Psalm 85, v. 10 & 11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. As I meditated on the images of these verses – faithfulness springing up from the ground, righteousness & peace kissing – I tried to imagine what that would look like. Where do we see steadfast iliftupmyeyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08448481825169376859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003846033995339450.post-1151564791692773302008-08-30T11:59:00.000-07:002008-08-30T18:55:49.191-07:00Psalm 26Pentecost 16A, August 31, 2008From the Lutheran lectionary calendar, the psalm for this week is Psalm 26. After reading it in the King James Version, the Contemporary English Version, the New International Reader's Version, The Revised Standard & New Revised Standard Versions, I picked the Message and the NIRV - because the language & images in these translations spoke to me.Psalm 26The Message (iliftupmyeyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08448481825169376859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003846033995339450.post-59787194585503537052008-08-15T06:20:00.000-07:002008-08-15T07:01:49.594-07:00headed homeToday is our last day on the beach. It is such a different visual experience being on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean versus being in the mountains of West Virginia. There is no "lifting up my eyes unto the hills" here.As I began preparing for this Sunday's homily, however, a verse from the Romans text jumped out at me “How deep is the wealth of God’s wisdom and knowledge? How unfathomable are iliftupmyeyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08448481825169376859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003846033995339450.post-79468096467584351332008-08-13T08:34:00.000-07:002008-08-13T08:43:10.305-07:00Remember Your BaptismWhy are particular shells washed up on the beach in abundance one day & the next day can’t be found? Are there shell-specific gardens on the bottom of the sea that produce a wealth of olives or augers or conches or scallops that then get disturbed by an underwater storm & washed to shore? During my walk yesterday, I found the most beautiful black scalloped shells – I picked up at least 50 of themiliftupmyeyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08448481825169376859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003846033995339450.post-85899844753661825702008-08-12T11:22:00.000-07:002008-08-12T11:38:11.036-07:00thoughts on the beachSunday at Surfside Beach, we got up and checked the 3 inch thick telephone book for churches. After a couple of calls to get directions & times, we settled on King of Glory Lutheran Church. Unfortunately, David & I failed to communicate the fact that King of Glory was in North Myrtle Beach – so to make a long story short, we ended up instead at St. Phillips Lutheran at 11 am instead of King of iliftupmyeyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08448481825169376859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003846033995339450.post-59500353902765212482008-08-10T10:43:00.000-07:002008-08-11T06:27:57.739-07:00rested, relaxed, inspired, connected, excited & scared...I left Chautauqua on Thursday - just after the morning lecture by Eboo Patel, which was a definite high in the week's series of lectures on Faith in Public Life. I can't leave Chautauqua without mentioning his inspiration. Patel, founder & director of the Interfaith Youth Core, an organization that promotes mutual respect and pluralism among people of differing religious traditions by empowering iliftupmyeyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08448481825169376859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003846033995339450.post-41209419269355385232008-08-05T04:29:00.000-07:002008-08-05T05:58:43.258-07:00The Family of Abraham Gathers at the WellI almost slept through the sacred song service held every Sunday evening at 8 pm. I arrived at 8:30, in fact and was blindsided by what may turn out to be my most powerful experience at Chautauqua. The service was an observance of the three faiths that stem from the family of Abraham. The moving and beautifully created service was accentuated by 3 young people, representing Judaism, Christianity iliftupmyeyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08448481825169376859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003846033995339450.post-78672179704788429262008-07-31T04:53:00.000-07:002008-07-31T08:46:35.049-07:00rejoice in the Lord, AlwaysFinally, I made it up in time to see the sunrise. It came up with its reflections streaming across the lake so loudly I had to stop my walk to watch. As did others, I noticed. It seemed rude to keep walking when such a magnificent event was occuring, it deserved all of our attention. Of course, there weren't nearly as many people up at 6:17 as there had been at 6:45. I imagine, they were waiting iliftupmyeyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08448481825169376859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003846033995339450.post-39512371943786750382008-07-29T14:03:00.000-07:002008-07-30T05:07:24.222-07:00what i did and didn't doI decided to walk around the lake this morning...no, I didn't see the sun rise, which happened at 6:17 am. I was close though - my walk happened around 6:45 am. It's amazing how many people are jogging, biking, walking, and kayaking at that time of day. I enjoyed my people watch, but mostly I drank in the beautiful flowers that grace the homes around the lake: the cone flowers, black-eyed susans,iliftupmyeyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08448481825169376859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003846033995339450.post-75924001024787441462008-07-28T14:55:00.000-07:002008-07-29T15:55:12.115-07:00a day full of restUp at 7 am - unlike Sally, my refrigerator mate, I did not walk around the gorgeous chautauqua lake this morning to see the sunrise. maybe tomorrow. I did got to "church" 4 times today! #1 at 9:30 am was worshipping at the Lutheran House (where I played the piano) & Pastor Wayne Koenig of Hudson, Ohio preached the word - a beautifully gentle message from I Kings 3 where the Lord tells Solomon iliftupmyeyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08448481825169376859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003846033995339450.post-84788975051397055542008-07-28T12:37:00.000-07:002008-07-30T05:09:18.878-07:00what does a pastor do on her mini-sabbaticalChautauqua, NY - Saturday afternoon. Checked into the Lutheran House, my home for the next two weeks. I assumed it would be like a hotel room - a place to stay...but it's better than that - more like a dorm where you eat & hang out & spend time with people if you want. I unpacked & went downstairs (I'm on the 3rd floor!) to practice on the beautiful grand piano in the living area. I am the iliftupmyeyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08448481825169376859noreply@blogger.com3