I opened my laptop to write in our local cafe, only to discover that I let the power run out. Thankfully, I remembered my charger and I am now tethered to the wall. Surrounded by technology, it is hard to miss the importance of recharging.

In our home, there are numerous devices that require charging. Computers, tablets, phones, electric razors, and more, become decorations, or clutter, without charging the battery. There is even a drawer in our kitchen dedicated to all of our charging cables and wall adapters. Keeping our devices ready to use is now just a way of life.

In the midst of ensuring power for all of our digital devices, we can forget that we also need to recharge. We cannot keep running effectively without taking time to renew ourselves. How can we obsessively remember to charge phones and computers while simultaneously ignoring the need to care for ourselves? We are not made to run on empty, and it should not require complete depletion before we stop to recharge the energy of our bodies, minds, and spirits.

I realized this morning I have not written anything creative in a month. I love creative writing, but several weeks ago I found myself staring at a blank page, with no idea what to do next. My creative bank account was empty, possibly overdrawn. Just like our financial bank accounts, there is only one solution when that happens, start making deposits.

Since the words were not flowing, I turned my attention to art. I wanted to improve my watercolor painting, and began looking for a class, or a challenge, to get me started again. There were many choices, but one stood out. Inspired, and terrified, I made the commitment to a 1000 day, watercolor art challenge. Yes, there were shorter challenges, but with this choice, I committed to making a daily deposit in my creative bank account for around two-and-a-half years. Thirty days later, my art is better, I feel like writing again, and I have a myriad of ideas for ministry.

We cannot be effective if we fail to care for what matters most. The Gospels tell us in numerous ways that Jesus often retreated to pray and renew himself. Just think of the stories of him spending time with his friends, praying alone on the hillside, enjoying time on the water with his disciples, and even making time for retreats. If the Son of God made regular time to recharge, how can we imagine that we will not need the same thing? If Jesus made it a priority, could it be that it should be our priority as well?

In upcoming posts, we will look at some things that drain us, and, more importantly, how we can recharge. For now, it is good to be back with you, and I look forward to sharing a Spirit- filled, creative journey with you.

The post Recharge appeared first on Thinking Faith Cafe.

I expected to gain some understanding of artistic design, painting tools and watercolor techniques. What I did not expect included learning to see with new eyes and insights into living in the moment. The instructor repeatedly mentioned that taking this class would change the way we saw the world around us. From his perspective, becoming a student of art ultimately leads to asking of the things we see in our lives, “How can I paint that?” The answer involves more than color choices and techniques, it also involves truly observing what we see.

A classic example happened during a recent class on painting trees. As we began to paint the trunks and limbs, our teacher asked, “what color should we use?” Of course, we responded with browns and grays. His suggestion, “begin with blue.” I was sure I’d never seen a blue tree trunk, but I was patient. By the time the class was over, our blue tree trunks looked more realistic than I imagined possible. Since then, as I observed the trees around me, I’ve seen a number of blue tree trunks and a number of colors I never knew were there.

Attentiveness to life is a gift. Not only do we see surprising colors and details we never noticed, but our eyes are opened to life that is all around us. The great diversity of creations begins to unfold before us and some of the simplest, most common things become awe-inspiring wonders.

Similar discoveries await us in our emotional, relational and spiritual worlds as well. When we pause long enough to truly see and when we are willing to retrain our senses, a world of fantastic wonders open to us, filled with great diversity, new discoveries and unimaginable inspiration.

I love living with my new eyes on the world. I invite you to join me as you take the time to open yours to what is around you as well.

The post A World Of Fantastic Wonders appeared first on Thinking Faith Cafe.

That was exactly how I felt yesterday, as I stared at a blank screen pondering what to write for my blog post. I’ve actually felt that way off-and-on for several days. I love to write, but I simply did not feel inspired. Then, last night, I got the word.

While watching a rerun of an episode of Art Race, one of the competitors shared some insight with a class of art students. Sharing a quote he heard, he said, “Inspiration is for amateurs; real artists go to work.”

I was cut to the quick. Sitting around waiting for inspiration, I avoided taking the difficult step of being creative anyway. I was waiting for some external stimulus to motivate me, when that motivation needed to come from me.

It is all too easy to allow our actions to follow our feelings, but that is a backward approach. In reality, our feelings follow our actions. We do not wait for the endorphins to kick in before we begin our exercise. We do not wait to feel loving before we begin to love. We do not wait for inspiration to take on the tasks of the day. In each situation, we decide to act and then we can celebrate when the feelings follow.

So, truthfully, I am not sure I am feeling inspired, but I am stepping out in faith, believing inspiration will rise up with each step. I can feel it stirring even now.

The post Inspiration appeared first on Thinking Faith Cafe.

I find that art is a powerful tool for the contemplative life. It helps us to appreciate these pieces of beauty wherever they may be found and trains our senses to actively look for them. When we begin to appreciate such things, we find the world of creative wonder designed by the ultimate Artist.

I am currently rereading a book on creative writing designed on helping the aspiring poet develop their senses and their attentiveness to the world around them. One of the assignments is to go outside, turn over a rock and list three things you are surprised to find. While I have not yet turned over a physical rock, I have been turning things over in my mind. I wondered what I would see under the rock, would there be anything I did not expect? Could I heighten my senses to see what I so easily miss?

It is a good question, not only for me, but for all of us who seek to appreciate the beauty of God in the world around us. It is the heart of contemplation and appreciation, of thankfulness and wonder. To look deeply, beyond our expectations and assumptions, is to open our minds and our spirits to something more amazing that we first thought.

I intend to turn over some rocks, physical and personal. I cannot wait to see what treasures and surprises await me. Maybe, in the busyness of this time of year, you would join me in looking for the hidden wonders and opening your heart to the beauty of God that is all around us. May we be blessed on our question to behold the beautiful things of God.

The post Behold the Beautiful appeared first on Thinking Faith Cafe.

“Frequently when I come to a certain part of ‘Our Father’ or to a petition, I land in such rich thoughts that I leave behind all set prayers. When such rich, good thoughts arrive, then one should leave the other commandments aside and offer room to those thoughts and listen in stillness and for all the world not put up obstructions… I have learned more from one such prayer than I could have received from much reading and writing” – Martin Luther

It is so easy to get so caught up in our routine that we miss the new creative moments that God is forming in our midst. Our comfort with the well-worn methods and paths makes it difficult to see new adventures awaiting us if we would only chart a new course.

As a pastor, I know that some of the scariest words I hear are, “We’ve never done that before,” or their partners, “We’ve always done it this way.” I know some others who shiver at them as well, because they are a verbal expression of spiritual eyes partly, or completely closed to new things, even those that God is doing. The scariest times are when those words come from my own mouth.

In the 43rd chapter of Isaiah, God tells the prophet, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (NIV) God makes clear the divine desire to do something new; something that will bless the world and glorify God. The image of a clear path in a barren land and flowing water in the arid wasteland are beautiful and amazing.

Can you picture lost people, parched with thirst hearing those words? Can you imagine the hope that they stir?

We can envision the comfort and sense of relief the promises of the Creator bring to those in such need, and we can see how we too, crave the promise of similar blessings in our own lives. Maybe we are safely in our homes, with plenty to drink, but we know times of being spiritually and emotionally lost – times when our hearts and spirits seem dry and empty. What grace it is to hear that in those difficult times, God is doing a new thing that will show us the way and water our souls.

Martin Luther was right. Sometimes, we have to lay aside the prescribed activities, even if they are spiritual, to open ourselves to the precious moment with God that is before us. We may need to let go of what we held onto in the past, to take hold of the blessing God has for our future. It may be time to change our words of concern into words of hope declaring, “Thank God! We have never done it this way before! Now is our opportunity to embrace God’s new way and walk in it. God’s blessing lies down the path the he is revealing even now. We’ve always done it our way, now we can do it God’s way!”

Can we forget the past, not dwelling on the former things and envision a future designed and blessed by God? If so, then the adventure is just beginning and the refreshing waters of the Spirit are just ahead. May God’s blessing be ours for the journey.

The post Taking Your Time appeared first on Thinking Faith Cafe.

One of the people I follow on Facebook posted this quote a few days ago and although he and I approach the issue of faith from different perspectives, I think we both find great resonance with Sagan’s point.

All too often, the Christian community seems to create a conflicted relationship with science, as if the two live in opposition to each other, but are they? Certainly, the Christian world-view impacts the way we understand the insight science yields, but shouldn’t our beliefs be strengthened by those same insights?

On a recent trip to the Museum of Science, I was profoundly struck by the awesome power and creativity of God. The astronomy section reminded me of the vastness of God and of creation. The biology displays proclaimed the tremendous diversity of God’s creativity. Even the geology section pointed to God’s ability to make rocks declare his majesty. Everywhere I looked there were testimonies to the quote, “God must be even greater than we dreamed.”

J. B. Phillips asked the same question Sagan asked from a decidedly Christian perspective in his classic book, Your God is Too Small. The Christian mystics throughout the centuries have also borne witness to a God who is far bigger that we ever imagined. Our God is the One who is able to do, “immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine.” (Ephesians 3:20)

Today, open your eyes to the greatness of God. Everywhere you look there are opportunities to see. The plants, grasses and trees that make up your yard declare the greatness of God. The butterflies, honeybees and birds declare the greatness of God. Dogs, cats and livestock declare the greatness of God, as does the great diversity of humanity. Everywhere we look, from the foundations of the earth to the vastness of the heavens, the glory, wonder, awe and majesty of God are there to be seen.

Don’t settle for a small God. Open your eyes and see the amazing wonder he reveals.

The post A Big God appeared first on Thinking Faith Cafe.

Night

Cicadas call across the night,

As the moon’s fiery glow burns the horizon.
The haunting beauty of their unison song,
Invites the evening’s stillness.

The gentle wind, now damp and cold,
Embraces all within its touch, and
Reveals the texture of night’s dark fabric.

I remain a foreigner to this time,
A visitor welcome, but not belonging,
yet I feel strangely at home.

The post Night appeared first on Thinking Faith Cafe.

In 1898, Langley approached the U.S. War Department for funding to design and build and airplane to carry a man aloft. The Department gave him a commission of $50,000 and he went right to work Enlisting the help of Charles Manley, Langley expected his years of work to bear fruit.

On October 8, 1903, Manley climbed into the pilot’s seat of a craft called the Great Aerodrome. The full-sized, motorized device was perched atop a specially built catapult designed to launch the craft into the air. When they attempted the launch, part of the Aerodrome got caught and the biplane was flung into the water fifty yards away. The criticism was brutal.

Langley pressed on, made modifications and eight weeks later, prepared to attempt flight again. This time the cable supports to the wings snapped as the plane was launched. The craft caught again in the launch rail and it plunged into the river upside down. Manley almost died.

Defeated and demoralized, Langley gave up. He abandoned his decades-long pursuit of flight without ever having seen one of his planes piloted to success. Just days later, Orville and Wilber Wright – uneducated, unknown, and unfounded – flew their plane “Flyer I” over the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Langley focused on a moment of disaster, which made him think it was the end. He abandoned his experiments. Two years later he suffered a stroke, and a year later he died. He took his eyes off the goal and began to focus on failure. That decision changed history and his destiny.

What happened in the life of Samuel Langley occurs in the lives of too many people today. They allow failure to get the better of them and it stops them from achieving their destiny. For the Christian, this should never be our story. We are children of the Most High God who lift their vision higher.

The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 121, “ I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” We need to look up! If we focus on failure and frustration, if we fill our field of vision with the molehills of life, we will never see the future that awaits us and we will never know the help of the One who waits to move on our behalf. We are called to be overcomers and that begins with where we fix our eyes.

My grandfather used to say, “What gets your attention gets you.” What has your attention? Is it the media’s prophets of fear and anxiety, the preachers of frustration at the office, and the teachers of distrust that surround us all? Or, is your vision focused on something higher? Are you catching glimpses of God’s presence around you and within you? What are you looking at?

I want to invite and encourage you to join me in training our eyes – physical and spiritual – to look for glimpses of God. The world around us may proclaim doom and gloom, but we have the Good News. The storm may be raging, but our anchor grips and holds the Solid Rock. Today is a perfect time to lift your eyes to where your help comes from. It is the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. I’m thinking that’s a pretty awesome place to trust.

The post Where Are You Looking? appeared first on Thinking Faith Cafe.

Our region was blessed with a night with one of the clearest skies in quite a while. Even with the parking lot lights on, the stars were numerous and vibrant. If you stepped away from the fire and shielded your eyes from the glare, you could even see the cloudy light that is the Milky Way Galaxy. It was stunning.

One of the adults, a retired Navy officer began to share his experiences with the stars throughout his life. He told us of the first time he saw the night sky from the darkness of a ship upon the sea. He went on to share how their beauty spoke to him many times during his service and even how he learned to navigate by those same stars we were enjoying together.

A 16 year old girl, who has great passion for God, came up to me and said, “Pastor, how can anyone look at the vastness of the sky and its beauty and not know that there is a God?” I smiled and confessed, “I have no idea.”

The revelation was not new. The Psalmist wrote:
          “The heavens declare the glory of God;
                the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
          Day after day they pour forth speech;
                 night after night they display knowledge.
          There is no speech or language
                 where there voice is not heard.” (Psalm 19:1-3 NIV)

The skies do speak. They witness to their Creator. They tell of order and beauty; function and creativity. Something of the vastness of the heavens speaks to the greatness of God. As we stand gazing into those skies we resonate with what we see, knowing that we too are a part of God’s great creation and instead of feeling insignificant, we know that in the wonder of it all, God knows us by name.

Tonight, I invite you to pause long enough to look at the skies and let them speak truth to you. Even if they are overcast, even if storms hide the rest of the heavens for a season, even then the heavens declare the majesty, wonder and creativity of God.

What did the skies say to me last night, you may ask. Just this simple, yet profound truth – it is a good thing to turn off, or look beyond the lights of this world to see the light of God.

The post The Skies Speak appeared first on Thinking Faith Cafe.