One Grace, One Team

A big shout-out to those who joined me for my "weekly office hour" today at noon. Even though it was hot, it's always good to be with CofCLCers!

The picture at left is the Womens National Team playing in the World Cup as I write this. Their motto is "One Nation, One Team." Despite being among the best in the world, the players are careful to root their individual contributions in the good of the team.

President Obama called us to do the same when he preached the eulogy for Clem Pinckney, Pastor of Mother Immanuel Church in Charleston. Whatever your assessment of his presidency, he was spot on.

Grace is not earned, or merited. It's not something we deserve. Rather, grace is the free and benevolent favor of God as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings...Out of the killing in South Carolina, God has visited grace upon us, for God has allowed us to see where we've been blind. God has given us the chance, where we've been lost, to find our best selves. We may not have earned it, this grace, with our rancor and complacency, and short-sightedness and fear of each other -- but we got it all the same. God has once more given us grace. But it is up to us now to make the most of it, to receive it with gratitude, and prove ourselves worthy of this gift." 

Toward the end of the eulogy, Obama lifted up the forgiveness the families of the victims extended to the alleged shooter:

It would be a refutation of this forgiveness if we merely slipped into old habits, whereby those who disagree with us are not merely wrong but bad; where we shout instead of listen; where we barricade ourselves behind preconceived notions or well-practiced cynicism."

Grace isn’t for us alone. We don't earn it. Grace connects us with each other, calling us beyond who we’ve been, calling us to contribute to the strength of the team, God’s team. As we earn our miles by walking, praying, and/or acts of service, let's open our hearts to each other. Because the more we can keep our hearts open, the more God’s Grace can enter and use us. May our motto in these coming days be One Grace, One Team.

 

A New Acronym: CDP

Friends, with our combined mileage, we are almost to St. Regis, MT!  What is there to know about St. Regis?  I turned to my trusty companion, Wikipedia.  Evidently St. Regis is a CDP, or a census designated place.

What is a census designated place, you may ask?  It is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places, such as cities, towns, and villages. CDPs are populated areas that lack separate municipal government, but which otherwise physically resemble incorporated places.

In other words, just because St. Regis isn't a top tourist destination, doesn't mean it's not important.  Kind of like Nazareth was, back in the day.

Keep up the good work!

Listen for the Cowbell

This Father's Day the household awoke at zero dark thirty to head down to Kent and cheer on the Dad in a triathlon.  Once caffeine kicks in, the energy and enthusiasm of these events is a blast.  People clap, cheer, whistle.....

And ring cowbells.  I have no idea why.

It's a unique sound and makes me laugh every time I hear it, whether I'm on the race course or a spectator.  The cowbell's only function is to be encouraging.

God is like the ultimate cowbell: cheering, encouraging, empowering.  Whether things run smoothly, we hit a wall, or can't finish our intended route and have to course correct, listen for the cowbell, because we never race alone.

Put a name on it

Today I get to bike through the Snohomish River Valley.  For my husband, it's an easy recovery ride.  For me, it's a big challenge.  For both of us, it's more fun to do together, which is really the whole point.

I have an app on my phone that tells me (literally) the total number of miles I've gone, so it's easy to keep track.

A big thank you to Chris Peppler, an Associate Pastor at Eastside Foursquare in Bothell, and a multisport athlete, who gave me permission to use his idea for my own blog:  Since we can earn miles by praying for others, I'm praying for a different person each mile.

Thanks to washable markers I can write someone's name next to each number.  I asked a group at church this week if I could pray for each one of them during my weekend ride.  There were some miles left over so they shared the names of others in need.

I am humbled and inspired by the stories you have shared about the ways you already earn miles through prayer and service.  If you'd like to put a name on it for future miles, please email me at adriennesh1@gmail.com.  All requests will be held in confidence.

One of my favorite lines on Chris' blog is that we share the Gospel at the speed of relationship.  We're all in this together.  What matters isn't how far or how fast we go, it's that we are on the road together, following Christ's call.  

The Challenge

Last Sunday I offered a challenge to the congregation of Cross of Christ.  Based on:

I'm calling it God's Work our Feet.  As a way to encourage healthy spiritual and physical habits, we can keep track of the miles we travel by foot, bike, swim, or other means of self-propulsion.


Click on the link below to for more details:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-nz0yzXM8yIY2xKc09iSUtjOEk/view?usp=sharing