Retreat

We are headed out of town for our church retreat. So fun and so good to get to sit down with people and talk and not have any time schedule. Fun to watch Wendell Broom fall in the river...he is such a good sport. I want to like Wendell and Betty...so happy and active and filled with the Spirit. They aren't afraid to tell you how old they are and they still camp and sing silly songs and enjoy time in conversation with all kinds of people. Looking forward to being with them this weekend.

Church of Christ/Nancy Grace

I have been reading comments this morning about CoCers reactions to Nancy Grace's interview with Rubel Shelley. I was so angry after watching. I am a woman in the Church of Christ and I don't agree with all Churches of Christ. I am feeling for Mary Winkler and wish that I could talk with her. I see pain in her face. As many of you know out there in the Church of Christ internet world, I have been very outspoken about women's role in the CoC and have thought many times about leaving the Church of Christ but here is why I am still a part of the Church of Christ...
The Church of Christ is my family and it is who I am. Even if I walked away, the CoC would still be family and it would still be who I am. I am a follower of Jesus and I can do that anywhere...why not stay in my family? I love the small world that is the Church of Christ...that at every CoC gathering there are always connections and if you don't know someone at that particular gathering, you do know someone that they know. I love that the Church of Christ is willing to continue to study and change. I know, I know, that change is slow but I don't feel like it is stagnant. I love the music of the Church of Christ. Most people in the Church of Christ don't feel anymore that instrumental music is wrong but just choose to stay with acappella music. I love the sound of acappella voices raised in praise...it is beautiful and moving. I also love our church's praise band but it is the acappella music that moves me the most. I am a member of a Church of Christ that is still thinking and moving and is on a journey to become a missional church. We are praying for and feeding our neighbors....the poor, the homeless and the disenfranchised. We are helping those around us who can't help themselves. It is not easy and I would even call it messy but we are not giving up. I am watching our church family reach beyond our comfort levels and touch the untouchables. We are still processing what this means to us as a church but I am glad that we are thinking and moving.
Yes, I have had my own beefs with the Church of Christ but it is not a cult and those of us who are part of the Church of Christ know that you can find just about whatever you want in a Church of Christ. There is no central organization and each church is independent and makes their own choices. Yes, there are some Churches of Christ that our mainline culture would have a hard time understanding but there are also some Churches of Christ that are relevant to the current culture...but I know that can be true for almost any denomination.
For now, I will stay with my family but I also think that I could sit down with Mary Winkler and talk and we would understand each other. The Churches of Christ are still learning and still searching...we don't have all the answers...right now we are just trying to form the questions.

Okay, less serious post tonight. I have been fascinated with some commercials lately. I love the Hilton commercials about being hospitable. The two women hailing a cab...one conservatively dressed and the other all in leather. The cab drives by the leather girl and picks up the conservative woman and the conservative woman motions for the girl to join in the cab. The other has a man carrying a bunch of stuff in from work and he has gate to his front walk and no hands to open it with. A jogger is going by and opens the gate for him. Both commercials end with Be Hospitable. I love it.
What about the spicy chicken sandwich one...fires keep starting from how hot the sandwich is.
Also the poor guy who just wants information about his credit card...makes a mess in his kitchen, answers crazy questions on the phone and some are stupid and embarrassing and then loses his connection in a tunnel. So funny!
Do you have any favorite commercials?

Sundays are always busy but I love them...church, soccer, and small group. I am always tired on Mondays but it is a good tired. Sunday morning we did what I call family communion and Tim and I served. It was not as structured as usual and you could come forward to anyone serving when you were ready to come and eat. I loved that some people walked all the way across the building to come receive communion from us. It is an amazing, transformational experience to serve the body of Christ to the body of Christ. I have never wanted to serve when it is just handing trays at the end of the aisles but I love being the one to hold it out and say to my family...This is the body of Christ given for you...to look them in the eyes and hug them or touch their arm. I loved leaning down and talking with children and telling them that this is the body of Christ. So many that I have grown to love and consider family and so many faces that I didn't even know.
Small group is always good and last night was no exception. Scott and Rachel Perkins came to visit our group and talk about our support of Randy and Jennifer Porter in Salvador, Brazil. We talked about what we are doing and what we can do and we prayed for them...it was a long and powerful prayer...I know that God was listening and I am sure they felt some kind of shift happening in their lives as we prayed. One very funny moment happened at the beginning of the prayer...Lorin called Randy and Jennifer...Randifer...like they were celebrities and in the tabloids. We all laughed so hard. I love it and I think we will continue to call them Randifer.
I am supposed to be at work today but they cancelled me...I guess there aren't enough patients but I probably needed to sleep in anyway.

I have been grabbed by the story of the murder of Matthew Winkler. I have been a member of the Church of Christ my whole life and I have been watching this story all day...hoping to hear the rest of the story. I saw the picture of Mary Winkler and I wanted to talk with her. I wanted to say that I know where you live...I have lived in your life and I would understand where you are coming from. I don't think the media will be kind and I know they won't be able to comprehend what it is to be a woman in the Church of Christ and the extra stress that comes from being the minister's wife. They won't understand your nice girl upbringing or the secret keeping...we do have to look perfect, don't we? I also don't think that they will understand the suppressed rage that comes from being in that place. I am praying for you Mary Winkler...for understanding, for compassion, for your little girls, for your sanity, for the future....I am sure that I am not the only one.

This is the second time that I have attempted to start a blog of my own. I have been reading and commenting on others' blogs for a long time now. I started one recently but really didn't want those who know me to find it right away..so I am starting another. I have loved getting to know so many people all across the country by way of their blogs and almost daily I read someone's blog and thought I might like to make some connections of my own at this point. I don't know where these conversations will lead but I hope to light and grace and warmth. The title comes from some thoughts by Brian McLaren about the dance we dance in leading others to Jesus. It doesn't happen by force or even quickly...it happens by relationship and leading and gently flowing with the music of life. Not alway easy or not always the music we wanted at that moment but something that we have to go with....gracefully.