Once a year we would make the trek from the suburbs of Chicago to this hot humid wonderland where we would get sweaty playing softball in the yard, and then spend hours in the pool playing Marco Polo.
You remember that game, right? The person who’s “IT” closes their eyes and yells, “Marco!”
All the other players, scattered around the pool, have to respond, “Polo!” and the person who’s IT tries to catch one of them by swimming/lunging quickly through the water to the sound of their voice.
To this day, if Katy, Maggie or I get separated from each other in a store, we’ll call out, “Marco!” and wait for the others to respond, “Polo!” so we can find each other. (Yes, we get some weird looks).
The other day after I heard Pete Wynter from HTB say, “Covid has been an INVITATION, not just an INTERRUPTION.” After reflecting, I posted on Instagram, some of the invitations I recognize in this season and one of them is a Marco Polo type invitation.
I believe it’s an invitation to silence the divisive voices of the politicians and the haters for a time and call out “Jesus!”
Then be still and listen for His response. Maybe He’ll call back to you through His Word, or with a whisper, “Here I am. Come this way.”
How will you know it’s Him?
His voice is always alined with Scripture.
His voice is always consistent with love.
His voice may not always agree with you, but it is life-giving.
If He speaks conviction it will be to draw you back to Himself with grace and forgiveness, not shame.
As I was thinking about the invitation to listen for God’s voice, I heard this song from Amanda Lindsey Cook. I pray it’s a gift for your weekend.
Some things you can’t know till you’re still In the silence Where your spinning thoughts slow down In the stillness
Pouring over cookbooks makes my little hostess heart sing. I love making to-do lists a month in advance of a dinner party, and brainstorming creative touches around a theme that may make my guests feel special.
But I’ve discovered that last minute “come-on-over’s” can be as good or better than our thoughtfully planned out “events”. I use that word on purpose because well-intentioned plans can tempt us to create events rather than times of welcome, care and connection.
Here are some of the benefits of spontaneous “come-on-over’s“:
No pressure on you, no high expectations. People know you’re flying by the seat of your pants. Present over perfect is the mantra of the day. This is a great time to use all your leftover holiday paper plates and napkins!
2. Everyone pitches in. I’m including a go-to recipe that uses ingredients you’re likely to have on hand (another plus during Covid), but last-minute gatherings are potlucks of necessity. No one is going to care if the meal is a mix of Mexican tacos, middle eastern hummus and Chinese chicken salad. Think “Stone Soup” – just bring what you have to add to the mix. Also, it doesn’t have to be a meal – drinks and chips are great!
3. You can count on the weather. We do most of our entertaining outside in the summer anyway, but this is especially key during this time of Covid. Last minute invites mean you basically know the forecast and know you’ll be able to be outside. When we have planned something outdoors far in advance, we have to be ready with Plan A (outside) and a Plan B (outside under tent), or Plan C (move inside – not really an option in our small house during Covid).
So, text a couple friends and scour your pantry. If you want some freezer meals to keep on hand, check out Thriving Home Blog. I served some of their Ham and Cheese sliders the other night. And here’s another recipe you might have ingredients for.
BLT – L Dip
1 cup mayonnaise (Hellmann’s regular or light)
1 cup sour cream (regular or light)
3 oz bag of real bacon bits (or make your own)
3-4 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
Finely shredded cheddar cheese or diced red onion if you want!
Mix everything together and chill for an hour. If you want to be extra Covid conscious, you could spoon dip into individual shooter glasses and add a couple carrot and celery sticks for each person.
Here’s to sanctified spontaneity, when we seize the moment and marvel at God’s provision!
Last week, we drove down a shady street of starter homes built in the 50’s and pulled up to our friends’, a few minutes after 6:00 on a perfect Minnesota summer evening.
Dad and sons 5, and 7 years old, were playing catch with their new gator/Covid masks on as they waited for us to arrive.
In their front yard a giant oak tree stretched a green leafy canopy over 4 “big people” chairs and 2 kid-sized chairs socially distanced in a circle. These, with our friends and a table of drinks welcomed us.
We smiled wide, exclaiming greetings, so happy to see each other, but resisting the urge to hug.
We talked about books and church and politics and family and transitions with the easy grace of people who have known each other for some seasons. The boys darted around, alighting once in awhile to join in the conversation like puppies, curious for a time and then gone once more to follow a bright new distraction.
Last night we drove out to a friend’s house on a lake for dinner. She greeted us with hair still damp from the shower – her very presence saying “Come as you are!” We sat on her deck that felt like a treehouse above the lake, and caught up over wine til raindrops chased us inside.
We rummaged in her drawers and set the table as she extinguished a fire on the grill and brought in charred flatbread with tomato, mozzarella and pesto that we gobbled up with laughter, and questions about life and self-understanding, conflict and reconciliation.
These two recent experiences were reminders to me of what true hospitality looks like.
It risks inviting. We do a lot in our home so it is less common for us to be the invited ones. How delightful it feels to be asked over!
It says, “You are so welcome here! Make yourself at home. This is us and you belong.” Real makes people relax.
It focuses on what’s important – being present to people, not stressed with performance. People remember how you made them feel, not how fancy you were.
It asks good questions, tells good stories, and fills us up with reminders of the goodness of God and His people.
We are not made for isolation. Yes, gathering looks different in this cautious season of Covid, but we still get to reflect the welcoming heart of God.
What has your experience of hospitality been recently?
Raise your hand if you’ve tried a puzzle (or two) during Covid.
Me? I looked long and hard to find a puzzle with a picture I really liked – one I thought would be challenging (1,000 pieces), but have enough color differentiation that it wouldn’t drive me crazy.
Boy did I choose wrong! Can you SEE all the white and shades of gray???
Here’s the thing I know about myself. I’m a 7 on the Enneagram so I love EVERYTHING, but I’m not good at persevering and doing hard work on ONE THING over a long time.
Bottom line? This puzzle turned out to be a spiritual practice for me. It took me forever (honestly probably a month), and every day I wanted to give up, but I kept going – one more day, one more day. Note: I did not receive any help from John and for that I trust he’ll pay at the judgment day.
I prayed the discipline required to complete this project would translate into other hard areas of my life where I’m tempted to quit or take short cuts.
That’s why I’m sharing this with you. The challenges before us – fighting racism, changing unjust systems, rebuilding broken lives – are going to take hard work and dedication for the long-haul.
There will be many days when we can’t see progress.
Days when the pieces don’t seem to fit.
Days when it seems way too hard.
Days when we need to remind ourselves that our brothers and sisters of color have been suffering and carrying this injustice for hundreds of years!
The pieces of my puzzle, with little to indicate the picture it would become, sat on our dining room table mocking me. I wanted to ignore it, but right next to the messy pieces, was the box with the image of what I was working towards.
What’s the picture we’re working to create with God’s help?
It’s a picture of His kingdom on earth, one that won’t be complete until Jesus comes again to wipe away every tear and bring a new order (Rev. 21).
But until then, we’re turning to Him to strengthen and guide us to start piecing together a picture of the kingdom where we honor God’s image in everyone.
It’s a picture where love and justice reign.
Where racism isn’t tolerated.
Where the needy are seen and cared for.
Where people listen to each other with humility and respect.
With my puzzle, on the hardest days, just getting one or two pieces were enough to keep me coming back.
Maybe the puzzle piece we find today is listening to the experience of someone who looks different from us, or reading up on white privilege or joining a webinar on anti-racism.
Maybe today is the day we repent of abdicating responsibility and tacitly supporting racist systems.
Maybe it’s signing a petition, or advocating – writing to a government official.
Maybe it’s donating goods to a food pantry, or cleaning our streets in the aftermath of riots.
Maybe it’s a peaceful protest or fervent prayer.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.
“These are the very days for the prophetic resistance of our joy and hope, for the practice of the Kingdom of God right in the snarl of the ‘Not Yet.’”
Those of you who know me, know that I’m a celebration and confetti type of person.
My husband says my life is made up of exclamation marks. Joy is my default and I tend to run from pain and sadness like roadrunner from Wile E. Coyote.
Hello 2020.
I can’t possibly understand what people of color have, and are experiencing, but I, like all of us, need to listen, lament and respond. I have tried to do this over the years and need to keep learning and getting better at being anti-racist.
I’m sorry there was no artist attributed to this. If you know, please tell me.
Recently, with more injustice and racial discrimination coming to light, I have been re-reading the book of Esther – a book about the abuse of power and injustice.
I remember when our girls were in grade school, Tomie DiPaola was the author of the month and our daughter took this book to share, but was told she couldn’t because it was “religious”.
Ironically, it is the one book of the Bible where God isn’t mentioned, but like a picture window in the home of a toddler, His fingerprints are everywhere.
In case you need a (very) quick refresher...Vashti is queen, married to Xerxes. She refuses to come be put on display during one of Xerxes drunken orgies.
Xerxes banishes her and announces a beauty contest to look for new queen.
Esther lives with her uncle, Mordecai (both Jews), hides her Jewish identity, wins the contest and becomes queen.
Mordecai uncovers a plot to assassinate Xerxes and tells Esther who tells X, ingratiating herself, and Mordecai
Mordecai refuses to bow to Haman, Xerxes right-hand guy.
Haman, furious, gets X to let him make a decree that all Jews will be killed.
Mordecai laments, prays, and persuades Esther to intervene
Esther supported and challenged by Mordecai, advocates on behalf of her people and they are saved. Haman is impaled.
I’ve been looking at the different roles people were called to play (or didn’t).
Like Queen Vashti are we refusing to take part in systems that dehumanize? (Esther 1:10-12)
Are we King Xerxes, abdicating responsibility and turning a blind eye when Haman wants to kill the Jews? ( 3:10, 15)
Are we like Haman, concerned with protecting our power and dehumanizing others? (3:5,6)
Or Mordecai, telling truth, leading his people in appropriate response, and encouraging the voice of Esther? (4:7,8,12-14)
Are we, like the Jews, lamenting and praying? (4:1-3)
Or Esther, challenged to speak truth to power with wisdom and strategic timing? (7:3-4)
Again, I am just a learner, but here are some things I’ve been thinking about…
I do not, do NOT want to abdicate my responsibility to use my voice to speak out against racism and pursue new systems of justice, but I want to humbly listen, listen, listen to my brothers and sisters of color and learn from them, not plow forward as if I know anything.
I also think I need to look for places to be a Mordecai – lifting people of color who have credibility I don’t, to places of leadership and elevating their voices while I support them.
Another idea I’m thinking about is how God may want to use our unique gifts in unique ways as we respond. For example:
One of my gifts is the ability to connect people. How might I leverage that on behalf of the oppressed?
Another gift is hospitality. What does it look like to use that gift to champion God’s kingdom where His image is celebrated in all its diversity?
A couple of questions for you:
Is there someone in the story of Esther who you identify with or who convicts you?
What are your gifts and how might you be called to use them?
Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage.
In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.
Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.
Good news has not been 2020’s strong suit. In addition to Covid and job loss, civil wars, and a typhoon in India, we’ve had more racially motivated shootings.
I have heard racism defined as prejudice + misuse of power.
I am a racist. I have exhibited prejudice and have benefitted from the misuse of power in our systems.
I want to listen and learn from my brothers and sisters of other colors. I NEED to repent and join them in lament. Even in writing this I fear I’m going to use the wrong phrase, or further hurt or offend.
There is so much I don’t know. In this post I just want to pass along some resources and ideas that are guiding me, in the hope that some of you, like me, want to get better at loving our brothers and sisters who have a very different story than we do.
Ahmaud Arbery lost his life on February 23 during his run. Most of you are probably aware of the call to go for a run/walk for 2.23 miles in solidarity. I thought this additional suggestion from National Community Church was really helpful:
The run becomes powerful when we make it reflective.
Consider how Ahmaud felt on his run? His family afterwards?
Consider how communities of color are feeling now?
Consider your own feelings. Where can you be vulnerable? Who can you lean into?
I highly recommend this insightful conversation about racial reconciliation with Mike Kelsey on Annie F. Down’s podcast(the meat of it starts at the 20 minute mark)
Some books I’m reading that have been recommended by people of color:
Love Anyway is the story of Jeremy’s incredible journey seeing the worst of war–and an invitation to discover a more beautiful world on the front lines where you live.
Maybe this song of confession is an appropriate first step.
Frail and broken, blind to what You’ve spoken This is my confession I am guilty, complicit in the action This is my confession
But You’ve accepted me, despite the things I’ve done You’ve acknowledged me, as righteous and beloved
My confession, Lord change me My confession, Lord make me more like You
I am rude and heartless, speaking words that harm love This is my confession Proud and selfish, consumed with how I finish This is my confession
But You’ve accepted me, despite the things I’ve done You’ve acknowledged me, as righteous and beloved
My confession, Lord change me My confession, Lord make me more like You
Grow in me love and peace and a joy that won’t cease Grow in me faith and kindness and goodness Grow in me gentle speech, grow in me long-suffering And the courage to die to myself This is my confession
My confession, Lord change me My confession, Lord make me My confession, Lord change me My confession, Lord make me more like You
(c) 2020 NCC Music – Written by Daesha Cummings, Joel Buckner, Josh Coad, Mark Alan Schoolmeesterss
I hope you’ll join me on this quest for deeper understanding and more authentic love. Feel free to add your own resource suggestions in the comments.
I read somewhere this week that we’re past the initial phase of this pandemic when adrenaline was giving us energy. Now we’re just weary, realizing we’re going to need to slog along, waiting for a return to “normal” for longer than we hoped.
For example, when Mary and Martha send for Jesus to come heal Lazarus, it says:
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,
john 11:5-6
Later Jesus says to the disciples:
“Lazarus is dead,and for your sake I am glad I was not there…
john 11:14-15
Jesus makes some clear statements about why (so that God would be glorified and they would believe), but what else might He have wanted to accomplish by dilly-dallying and allowing Lazarus to die? Why make Mary and Martha wait?
I hate to admit it, but waiting makes me desperate, and passionate and I can interact with Jesus a little like this…
Maybe that’s another reason why He allows me to be in situations where I have to wait. My relationship with Him is intensified. It’s raw and real, and draws me closer to Him.
If you’ve been through a hard time with someone –
waiting to get news with a family member in the E.R.
waiting with a friend to talk to police after being the victim of a crime
waiting with your family for your unemployment check to come
waiting with your spouse to get pregnant
waiting with colleagues to find out if the client wants to hire you
– you get to know your companions on a whole different level right?
Vulnerability leads to greater intimacy. And waiting makes us vulnerable.
I’ll be honest. I like greater intimacy with Jesus, but I sure don’t like what it takes to get me there! Anyway…enough serious stuff.
Whether you’re waiting for the pandemic to be over, or waiting for something else, I hope some of these posts from Instagram make you smile. You can find me, or any of these accounts here.
Another thing I’m trying to do while waiting is find things to celebrate!
Cinco de Mayo is coming up Tuesday and I’m going to try these shrimp tacos from pinchofyum.com that Maggie and Katy have been raving about. They’ve assured me liberal substitutions are permitted!
pinchofyum.com
What’s keeping your spirits up during these days of waiting? What are you learning?
One time a few years ago, some friends and John and I were in a small fishing motorboat on Lake Minnetonka on a super windy day.
We bounced hard across the water, hitting huge waves and getting drenched with lake spray. Large boats cruised by us without a backwards look, rocking us with their wake. ⠀
An anonymous thought has been going around about our Covid_19 crisis:
We’re all in the same storm, but we’re not in the same boat.
I don’t want to just cruise by the other boats in this season, oblivious to the challenges they are facing, but it’s hard. Circumstances have changed drastically for everyone.⠀
There are those who are exhausted and stretched thin, serving the needs of a whole crew trapped in the boat with them, while also doing a full-time job and wondering if their spouse will lose his.⠀
There are others who are isolated and lonely, grappling daily with depression and boredom.⠀
I’m an extrovert enneagram 7 sharing a boat with an introvert who’d probably prefer to be on a one-person jet-ski.
Some feel like their life raft is sinking and they’re barely hanging on, while others have created party boats, enjoying puzzles, wine, and virtual bingo.⠀
You may feel like you’re on a slow-moving funeral barge, or a solid, steady cruise ship.⠀
The danger I’ve found is assuming anything about the boat others are in.
I’ve been insensitive, forgetting to check in with some who are isolated.
I’ve also become frustrated with unresponsive friends who are stressed to the max on the other.
We need grace, grace, and more grace – for others, and for ourselves in these days.
I think of the verse that characterizes one of my mentors and is my prayer:
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
colossians 4:6
What does your boat look and feel like today? I really want to know!
I shared this first on Instagram. Would love to see you there!
I can’t begin to understand what you’re is feeling during this uncertain time. There are so many variables and different challenges and blessings.
For me, some days I feel inspired by the goodness of my fellow humans and I’m full of creative energy trying to figure out new ways to encourage and serve.
But other days I’m overwhelmed with sadness for small businesses, and frontline workers, and the elderly and those around the world who even before Covid_19 were struggling to find enough food to eat.
This week I’ve been reading a book I highly recommend on lament. It’s called No More Faking Fine. Esther Fleece weaves the story of her painful past with her discovery of God’s invitation to lament and the intimacy that comes with it.
This video makes me think of the biblical pattern of the year of Jubilee from Leviticus 25 – letting the land rest.
Here in Minnesota our governor has just extended our “lock down” til May (something new), and snow is predicted on Easter (something old).
It’s an understatement to say that this Easter will be different than any we’ve ever known. I was struck by this image from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which I have visited many times. It marks the site of the crucifixion and tomb of Jesus.
I’m reminded of this verse:
You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
MATTHEW 16:18 MSG
Maybe having the trappings we have become accustomed to stripped away will help us to pay attention in a new way to the work of Jesus on the cross and in our lives!
Where will you be attending church online? Share in the comments!
As we carry on and look for the things Jesus wants to form in us during this time, I hope some of the following will make you smile or encourage you.
Do a morning WFHOOTD (work from home outfit of the day) photo call-out in your group chat.
Organize a remote game night; this spreadsheet has a bunch of good games for multiple players.
Have a night where everyone utilizes the same ingredient (probably beans) or cooks the same recipe and then shares photos and/or eats together.
Do a book club, or podcast club.
Learn the same TikTok dances and show them to each other.
And this one I’d add – memorize a passage of Scripture together.
You guys know that I love hanging out onInstagram because I try to follow and post images and stories that highlight beauty, goodness, and truth. Most mornings during the pandemic I’ve been posting a two minute devotional thought on my Instagram stories that I pray may encourage you.
Durning this time when we’re homebound (and even when we’re not!) I love to travel vicariously through the following Instagram feeds. I feel like I “live” on a farm in the mountains of Virginia and birth baby lambs with Sweckerfarm, and stroll the English countryside with Suddenjourneys! Both post delightful Instagram stories every day – highly recommend!
If you want an uplifting series that embodies honor, and integrity, I highly recommend The English Game on Netflix! It’s by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) and is about the creation of soccer in England in the late 1800’s and the clash of classes at the time.
Easter meals are going to be really weird this year, amiright?? Is anyone sharing a meal virtually with family??
This egg bake (sorry I don’t have a picture) is our favorite for holidays. You make it the night before. Although it may sound strange, the two keys to making this great are English Muffin bread (From Great Harvest if you can), and Velveeta cheese (yes, you read that right!)
Cheryl’s Egg Casserole
1/4 cup green onions sliced
mushrooms sautéed (if you want)
1 cup ham diced (I just ask them to cut one thick slice of ham in the deli and then I dice it, but you can use bacon if you want)
15 eggs scrambled (yes, cook them)
Make a cheese sauce like this:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups whole milk
1 cup (or more) Velveeta cheese added slowly in chunks to melt
Mix everything together and put it in a casserole. Refrigerate overnight.
Melt some butter and toss torn pieces of English Muffin bread with it. Cover the egg casserole with the bread crumbs and bake at 350 til bubbly.
Have a blessed, joyful Easter everyone and remember to share where you’re going to church in the comments!
