Meet the Pastor

I like old things. I have always liked old things. I like rummaging through dusty attics and poking around in antique stores and scrounging for bargains in thriftshops. I prefer classic cars and vintage motorcycles over their younger cousins, and understand completely when some old – timer mourns, “They just don’t make ‘em like they used to!”

There is such a history in old things! Even inanimate objects have a memory! When you run your hand over the fender of a Model T, or grip the handlebars of a ’39 Indian, memories of a former life drift up and hover in the air like dust motes on a sunbeam. You can sense the people who have owned it, the places it has been, the things it has seen. It makes me glad to see some old thing restored and put to good use by someone who loves it.

Bob and I have a motorcycle named Lazarus, because it was raised from the dead. For years it had stood, broken and neglected, behind the door of a barn. The seat was torn, it was missing a tire, there was rust on the tank, and the motor was blown. To me, it looked deader than a doornail. But, when Bob looked at it, he saw that bike not as it was, but as it would be when he got finished with it. Then, he proceeded to lovingly bring it back to life—hence the name.

God must look at us like that – like some old relic from the beginning of time. When God first created us, we were shiny and new and in perfect working order. But, the world has a way of wearing you down, and it didn’t take long before we were like fine machines that have stood too long behind the barn door; rusty and broken and missing some parts.

But, God has a passion for restoration! When God looks at us, he doesn’t see us as we are. He sees us as we will be when he gets finished with us. Then, he proceeds to lovingly bring us back to life. He binds up our broken hearts and smooths out our rough edges, and before long, weare up and running again, as God intended.

We are Easter people! People who were deader than a door nail, but now, are alive again in Christ; put to good use by our God, who loves us.

Slowly, but surely, God is restoring all things to himself. He started out with Jesus – the first to be resurrected. How I’d love to poke my head into that empty tomb, see the grave cloths, the stone on whichJesus lay his head! How I’d love to see Jesus,completely restored to his former glory, (give or take a scar or two.)

That day will come. Someday, when I least expect it, the trumpet will blow, the clouds will part, and Jesus will gather me in his arms and take me home to live with God forever! And, I will be changed! This old body of mine will be restored to the days of my youth, and I will forget all about old things. I will be too busy enjoying the new! That is the promise of Easter – the hope in which we who love the Lord live. May you see signs of restoration all around you this Easter as never before!

Blessings, Pastor Barb <><

Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing. Isaiah 43:18-19a

I’m thinking about the Wee Folk today. My Irish roots tend to take over in March and make me dream in shades of green; of Little People guarding pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, and of silkies basking in a Spring sun so warm it makes them shed their skins. Do you know the legend of the silkie? “Superstition!” most would say. “Tall tales told at bedtime to help small children get to sleep!” Well, I like a tall tale as well as the next person, and there is something about the silkie’s story that intrigues me.

Imagine for a minute… a sable-colored seal slides out of the sea to lie among the rocks. As you watch, you are astounded to see her slip out of her skin, revealing a beautiful maiden, long, dark, hair gleaming in the sun. It is said among the sea folk that a man who captures the skin of a silkie, captures her heart, as well. But, the sea does not leave her. A man may take a silkie for his wife, but no matter the bonds of love betweenthem, no matter the love she may have for their children, should she find her skin, she is gone in the blink of an eye, back to her first love – the sea.

What fascinates me about this tale is the memory of the silkie. Though she has everything she needs to be content – husband and children and hearth and home – the silkie never forgets where she came from. She never ceases searching for her lost skin, and is always turning her sad eyes to the sea, longing to return to her true home under the waves.

I understand that longing, that sense of something missing, the ceaseless searching for that home buried deep within the memory. Like the silkie, I have everything I need to be content, and, most days, I am. Yet, there are days, like today, when the sun beams on me so warmly that I want to run down to the sea and shed this skinbag in which I live! My eyes search the heavens, and I long for my true home above the clouds. One day, I, too, will be gone in the blink of an eye to live with God – my first love. So, for me, the tale of the silkie isn’t so tall after all! Because, like my sainted grandmother used to say, if you look for it, you can find a bit o’ truth in almost everything!

May your Spring be green! Pastor Barb <><

For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven.
2 Corinthians 5:2

My mother had a plaque in her kitchen that read, “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.” I didn’t understand it as a child. Back then, my days stretched out before me like US 80 across Nebraska – flat, unwavering, and with no end in sight. There was time. Always, there was time to do the things I wanted to do. And if I ran out of day before I was through, well, no matter. There was always tomorrow. Today, I understand the meaning of that plaque all too well. My days seem to have gotten shorter. I hit the floor running in the morning, and sometimes, I don’t stop till I fall into bed at night, exhausted from trying to finish everything on my “To Do” list. But, the hurrier I go, the behinder I get. The busier I get, the more things seem to pile up, and running through the back of my mind is the reality that I may not have tomorrow.

I am not alone in this. I greet a friend. “Hi! How are you?” I ask.. “Oh, busy… busy.” he replies. So many people are so busy! It’s like someone pushed the fast forward button on the world and walked away and left it! Technology is advancing so fast that new devices are obsolete practically before they hit the market! New ideas are buzzing around like gnats, and for the average person, can be just as irritating. They are hard to see and harder to get a hold of! These are exciting times, and yet, most of us just need a little time to catch up! To stop the frantic pace long enough to catch our breath. To just slow down.

Lent is the time when we reach out and push the “Stop” button. It is the time in the Church year when we take time to make time – time to be alone with our thoughts and with our God. Time to sit, and think and rest. And, this year, it’s a Leap Year! This February, you get one, whole extra day – 24 whole hours – to let the dust settle around you, and let the earth catch up with itself. It’s not easy to get off the merry-go-round and quit spinning for a while. That is why we call the extra time you spend with God in prayer and worship and fellowship the Lenten Disciplines. But, it is time well spent. When you take the time to renew and refresh your spirit, the busy-ness becomes more manageable, and your “To Do” list less demanding. So, give yourself a break! Promise yourself that you will make the time to spend this Lent with God. Set aside the five Sundays in Lent to worship and share a meal with your fellow pilgrims at Zion. You know your soul is desperate for it!

Inviting you to take a slow ride this Lent…Pastor Barb <><

Stop and consider the wondrous works of God. Job 6:3

It was 6 a.m. The sun was loudly announcing the coming of a new day in riotous colors – magenta and orange and gold. Father Time, an old man, white – bearded and gnarled as an old oak tree, had tossed the hat to the Baby New Year, and 2012 was ushered in! I stood on the porch, awe-struck, and watched the first sunrise of the new year arrive, blinking and yawning and waving its fists like a new born infant; fraught with possibility. A whole, new year was ahead of me! Why, anything could happen!

A baby does that to you, doesn’t it? A brand new baby fills you with wonder, and hopes and dreams! You grasp tiny hands, marvel at the smallness of fingernails; take off miniscule socks to count tiny toes. And, when you look into those eyes, you get the feeling that you are looking into an old soul, too wise for this world, and suddenly, nothing seems impossible anymore. You dare to imagine all sorts of things and begin to plan how to put those dreams in motion. No wonder they chose a baby as the symbol of the New Year! A baby changes everything!

Perhaps that is why, when God came down to be one of us, he came down as a baby. Perhaps God wanted to experience everything it meant to be human. To experience how it felt to be helpless, totally dependent on others for food, for warmth, for affection, for life itself – and yet, still have the power to bring kings to their knees.

Three kings, Wise Men from the East, journeyed far to find a baby – the king of the Jews. Strangers to the faith, they didn’t know they were searching for God until they found him. But, when they did, they were filled with wonder! They looked into those eyes – the eyes of an old soul – and knew immediately that this was the baby they were looking for. They dropped to their knees and worshipped him – the One they had never known.

An epiphany! A revelation! The Christ child was revealed to strangers! And from that day on, we who were once strangers were brought into the fold! Grafted onto the vine and adopted as children of God, we celebrate the New Year with an eye to January 6th – the day of the Epiphany of our Lord, when Jesus was revealed to be the Lord of all, not just a special few. And, one day, everyone will know him.

As the sun topped the trees, beams of golden light spread out like a fan across the morning sky. The stars disappeared from view, all except that bright, morning star – always the last to fade. I imagined that it rivaled the star that led the Wise Men to the baby Jesus; Jesus – the Bright Morning Star… and I realized with a jolt that I would follow that Star anywhere!

May 2012 be a year full of joyous epiphanies for you, as you seek the God who allows himself to be found. Looking forward to journeying with you!

Happy New Year!

Pastor Barb <><

Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! Philippians 2:10-11

We pushed ourselves away from the table, groaning with pleasure and patting our bellies – another Thanksgiving dinner resting snuggly under our belts. We stood with difficulty, and ambled on out to the living room to enjoy another family tradition – watching the original version of The Miracle on 34 th Street. We love to watch Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in black and white and are delighted every year when eight year old Susan discovers that her friend, Kris Kringle, who she at first thinks is just a nice old man with whiskers, really is Santa Clause! By the end of the movie, she has come to believe.

One of the most poignant scenes in the movie is when the children line up at Macy’s to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. Susan watches with growing amazement as Kris, the store Santa, seems to know what each child wants before they ask him! Then, a little orphan girl from Holland steps up. She looks sadly at her feet as her adoptive mother explains that she won’t be able to tell Santa what she wants for Christmas, because he doesn’t speak her language. But, Kris breaks in and greets the child in her native tongue. Her eyes light up, and she grins with delight! “Oh, Sinter Klaas!” she cries, as she throws herself onto Santa’s lap. Her grief and homesickness vanish for a time as they sing a familiar carol together, and talk of how Christmas is done in her own country. For just a little while, her strangeness vanishes, and she feels at home. Better than the gift she hoped to receive on Christmas morning is the gift she is given at that moment – the gift of belonging.

All of us have the basic human need to feel we belong, somewhere, to someone. That is why Christmas is both the most loved and the most difficult holiday of the year. When you are surrounded by family and friends, and have enough of all you need, it is a celebration indeed! But, when you are alone, or out of work, or ill, it can make you feel like a stranger – an outsider, standing on the sidelines, watching the party going on, with no one who speaks your language.

But, a miracle has happened on your street! Jesus knows what you need before you even ask him! He speaks to you in a language that you can understand, and makes your eyes light up! He draws you into the family of God; makes you a part of something so wonderful, you can’t help but grin from ear to ear. He gives you the gift of belonging, and heals your homesick heart. So, don’t spend Christmas looking at your feet, feeling like you don’t belong! Come! Spend your Christmas as a part of the Zion family. Let the carols lift your spirits. Let the story of Jesus’ birth become a part of your story. Believe that miracles do happen! Let one happen to you!

May the song of the angels fill your days with joy!

Merry Christmas!

Pastor Barb <><

“It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world” John 4:4

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

I stood in the middle of the cypress swamp and wondered at the change a season makes in the life of an ecosystem. The water dried up a month ago. Gone now are the toads and tree frogs. Gone are the mosquitoes that seek me out like a grand buffet. It was eerily quiet now; no sound but the wind blowing the fallen leaves around. I pulled my hood up over my head, and stuffed my cold hands into my pockets.

November is a lonesome month. It speaks of the end of things. The grass withers. Flowers fade. And, the dying leaves remind us of our own mortality. How fitting it is that we set aside days in November to honor our military dead, and to remember loved ones past.

All Saints Day, Veteran’s Day, and Christ the King Sunday all fall in November. We spend time in our cemeteries, planting mums and laying wreaths. We come to the end of the Church Year. We pull our hoods up over our heads, stuff our cold hands into our pockets and listen to the wind blow our memories around like fallen leaves.

But, the season of Advent also begins in November this year – that waiting time that speaks of hope and new beginnings. We are reminded that by his life, death and resurrection, our Lord Jesus put an end to Death! Because of Christ, we are comforted to know that these precious ones we long to see wait for us on the other side of the veil, just as we await the Lord’s coming again in all of his glory; the time when he will make all things right.

I nudge the leaves aside with the toe of my shoe, and there, under the blanket of Fall, a green shoot slumbers. I smile at the promise it holds of new life. Replacing its cover, I walk out of the shadow of the cypress trees and into the waning sun. The earth turns. Advent arrives. Christ will come again. And, I can wait.

May God bless your waiting time with peace and joy and laughter.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pastor Barb <><

Wait for the Lord; be strong, take heart. Psalm 27:14

October was one of my favorite months, growing up, because they showed one scary movie after the other on Friday nights. My friends and I snuggled down in front of the TV with a big bowl of popcorn and a comforter. We used the comforter to make a tent, ready to throw over our heads when things got too scary to watch. I loved the way delicious goose bumps ran up and down my arms when the Creature from the Black Lagoon rose up out of the water, sea weed dripping from his limbs. And the way my hair stood up at the back of my neck when Count Dracula crept silently up on his unsuspecting victim. Safe within my circle of friends and the blue TV screen light, it was such fun being scared!

But, as I grew, being scared wasn’t so much fun any more. The things that go bump in the night became seriously sinister. And, no longer did they disappear at the flip of a switch, or the turn of a dial. Things like friends going off to war, bills piling up, broken relationships, raising kids, a sick parent and feeling old can give you nightmares to rival the scariest movie! The reality is that real-life monsters lurk in the shadows, waiting for the chance to make you shriek.

Jesus knew how scary this world can be. He knew that the powers of darkness would try to scare us away – try to make us run, even from God. And, so, God sent us the Holy Spirit, The Comforter, to live with us, to calm our hearts, to relieve our fear, and to wrap us up in protective wings, soft as a dove’s. So, when fear attacks and you feel the scream bubbling up in your throat, pull the comforter of God’s tent over your head and take refuge under the shelter of his wings. Rest in God’s presence until all calm has been restored, and the things that go bump in the night will be silenced!

May all the goose bumps you get this Halloween be the ones that come when you are brushed by the wings of God!

Blessings, Pastor Barb <><

Let me abide in your tent forever; find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Psalm 61:4

The grapes are coming in. Large, purple globes the color of fresh bruises nestle among dark green leaves, hoping to escape the notice of the bluebirds that perch on the vines to cast a practiced eye upon the ripening fruit. It will be a contest as to who gets them first – the birds, or my neighbor, who is gearing up for his annual wine-making. The sweet, musky aroma of muscadines, warm from the sun, hangs in the air like the morning mist, making my mouth water. No wonder the birds have set up vigil! I, too, know how good it is to bite through the thick skin to get to the juicy pulp. And, I have been the lucky recipient of some mighty fine homemade muscadine wine!

It is no surprise to me that the first miracle Jesus performed was to change water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana. He did this not because he liked wine so much, but because he liked people. And, he loved his mother. She asked him to save a newly-wed couple from the real social stigma of running out of wine at their week-long wedding feast. Mary believed in her son, so much so that she didn’t have to ask him how he would fix it – she just knew he would. She told the servants to “Do what ever he tells you,” confident that all would be well. And, to please his mother, Jesus changed water into a wine so good even the wine steward was impressed! This tells us two things. First, that Jesus listens when those he loves bring their cares and concerns to him. And, secondly, that he has the power to change things for the better – even beyond our expectations.

How good it is to know that Jesus is willing and able to help us with whatever we bring to him! How good it is to be able to hand our problems over to him, then step back and let him take care of things in his own way, in his own time, believing that he will make something good come out of it all. This is the source of the peace that only Christ, the True Vine, can give. May the fruit of peace gladden your heart like fine wine.

Fall Blessings,
Pastor Barb <><

You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the human heart… Psalm 104:14-15

Christian Eye of Providence

It’s night time in coastal Georgia. The sun has rolled over the horizon to blaze on someone else’s house for a while. The moon, cool as a solar nightlight, makes patterns of lace on the lawn. The tree frogs are crooning their lusty love songs in whiskey tenor tones. Sleepy wrens, their heads tucked beneath their wings, listen to the lullaby as they nestle in to dream of seeds and berries. And, I, too, lulled by the music of night, fall gratefully into my bed, looking forward to a good night’s sleep after a day well filled. I am one of the fortunate ones for whom sleep comes easily, and night time is my friend.

Up in Athens, I imagine my eldest son, bleary-eyed from work and study, staring at the computer screen, playing games or working on his thesis while his daughter laughs in her sleep in the next room. There is no reason for him to lie down yet, for he knows that sleep will not come. He is one of those for whom sleep is a tease; an ill-behaved puppy off the leash, skipping and dancing around his feet, but staying just out of reach. He has insomnia, and for him, nights can be long.

What must it be like to never have to sleep? To hover over the earth, keeping your eye on every thing, every minute of every hour? That is what the Bible says God does – that not only does God never sleep, but God never even gets weary! The mind boggles…

Even though we are made in the image of God, it speaks to God’s “otherness” to know that God never has to get a little “shut-eye”; never has to doze off for a minute, or catch a cat-nap here and there, to keep alert, like we do. No wonder the Eye of God has become a well-known Christian symbol! Not the more recent image taken by the Hubble space telescope, but the ancient image that has long been a symbol of Divinity, shown in the image above. The eye of God is set in the middle of a triangle. The triangle represents the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Rays of light stream out from it to represent God’s infinite holiness.

You’ll find an example of the Eye of God on the back of a US dollar bill! It’s the small triangle on the left hand side, hovering above the pyramid. According to Wikipedia, our forefathers added the Eye of God to The Great Seal of the US, to show that God was overseeing the birth of a new nation. That’s why they wrote “Annuit Coeptis” above it, which is Latin for “He has favored our undertaking.” That is an interesting fact. But, for Christians, the symbol stands to remind us that the all-knowing and ever-present eye of God is always upon us, guarding us and keeping us in his loving care.

God is the Eternal Insomniac; keeping constant watch over all his creation, day in and day out! What a comfort it is to know that we are always and forever, under his watchful eye. So, whether you are sound asleep or wide awake, rest easy, My Friend! For the Eye of God is upon you, and he cares for you!

Blessings as the new School Year begins,

Pastor Barb <><

Behold, he that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
Psalm 121:4:

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean –
The one who has flung herself out of the grass,
The one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
Who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down,
Who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to fall down into the grass,
How to kneel down in the grass,
How to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through
The fields which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t every thing die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life? By Mary Oliver

The heat is a wall that I push against as I walk through the fields. It shimmers around me like water in a wading pool. Startled, the grasshoppers rise up and whirr away to cling to grass so dry it crackles under my feet. It’s a summer day in southern Georgia, and I have left the airconditioning for the great outdoors long enough to ponder the question Mary Oliver poses in her poem above. Just what is it I plan to do with my one, wild and precious life? What, indeed?

Because I do know what a prayer is, I fall down into the grass, kneel down in the grass, and ask the Lord what it is that he would have me do now? What am I to do next? Because, there is always a next. This one, wild and precious life we are given is a journey from which we never arrive. There is always something more for us to do; one more need to meet, one more ministry to embrace, one more heart to gladden.

This is the joy of being a follower of Jesus! Always, there is good work to do. Your life has meaning and purpose! You are a precious laborer in God’s fields. You are wanted, needed, gifted and sent. There are always moments to be idle and blessed; moments spent walking with the Lord through the fields, marveling at grasshoppers. But, the time is not wasted time. It is time spent in contemplation, asking God for his direction. Then, you rise and move with renewed energy into the next task to which you are called.

So, is this your idle time, or your working time? What is God calling you to do, next? Don’t get lost out in the fields with the grasshoppers. Always be in prayer, asking what God would have you do with this gift of your one, wild and precious life. This is the key to a life well lived. Thank you, Mary Oliver, for asking us this great question.

May the heat of summer embrace you with the warm love of Christ,

Pastor Barb <><

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Matt. 9:35-38