Zipporah

I'm feeling like a slacker for my lack o' posts lately. Rather than leave my large fan base (hello to all 3 of you) hungry for more while I craft a more recently inspired post, I am copying an email I sent to the aforementioned 3 fans way back on June 26th. Sorry to the 3 of you who have already read this stuff. I thought I'd open up this discussion to any hapless internet surfers who float this way. ;-) Also, apologies to those of you not familiar with the Old Testament of the Bible...this is written from the assumption that the reader already knows the whole story of Moses, etc.


Exodus Chapter 4

24-26 On the journey back, as they camped for the night, God met Moses and would have killed him but Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off her son's foreskin, and touched Moses' member with it. She said, "Oh! You're a bridegroom of blood to me!" Then God let him go. She used the phrase "bridegroom of blood" because of the circumcision. -The Message

I don't remember ever hearing about this verse in a sermon or bible study. I'm sure I've read over it before, but this morning it grabbed my attention. To put this verse in context read the rest of Exodus Chapter 4 (it's a short one). Basically, the short paragraph above comes right after God has revealed his entire vision to Moses for HOW Moses will free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Moses has already protested fiercely why he was not qualified to lead the slaves out of Egypt. God had already reassured Moses in every way that there was nothing to worry about...God would be with him and in control of EVERYTHING, including Pharoah's stubborn streak. And the very next paragraph, is THAT one. THAT paragraph that mentions (oh so casually) that God was about to KILL Moses! After God had JUST finished reassuring Moses that He knew what he was doing and Moses was indeed the ONE to free the slaves, etc. The paragraph does not explain WHY God was about to kill Moses. The paragraph does not reveal any lack of faith on Moses' part at this point...they had already worked through all that in the preceding verses. In fact, it is said so matter of factly and briefly that it seems clear that God attempting to kill Moses is NOT the point.

So, what IS the point? The faith and loyalty of Zipporah. I think this was God's way of testing Zipporah's courage, faith, and loyalty. She loved her husband so much that she stood up to GOD himself on Moses' behalf. And she stood up to God in a way that honored God and showed reverence. BTW, I like the Message translation best cuz it says she touched his member (tee hee). All the others say she touched his feet, but doesn't member make more sense? Like, she couldn't actually circumcize Moses...he had already been there done that!

Well, this got me thinking about the importance of the wife in God's eyes. God knew that Moses would need the absolute support and loyalty of Zipporah in the challenge he faced. God knew that Zipporah's faith and devotion to God would be supremely mandatory in the years to come. So this little paragraph establishes that.

I was also thinking about how that applies to us modern wives. (I am speaking it so for the future in my case) Like, when our husbands are facing the biggest challenge of their lives, what are we willing to do? Just stand by and watch? I am NOT suggesting we draw blood or anything that literal...but I think it does call us to put our loyalty to our husband first and defend him to whatever is threatening to destroy him. In other words, the fierceness of our faith on behalf of our husbands DOES matter greatly to God. Our iron clad loyalty and willingness to fight for our husbands matters to God. At least this is what I'm thinking after pondering that bizarre little paragraph for a few hours.

I have not done any research to see what the top theologians think on this subject. But it would be interesting to find out if anyone has ever given a sermon or bible study on this verse before. Also it is an example of how we should have a healthy fear of God's Truth, even though we live in the era of the New Covenant which fully demonstrates God's Grace. Do any of you have insights to add? Or do you know of a sermon or bible study that references this verse?

Sustainability

I'll admit, I'm not the most eco-friendly person you'll ever meet. I do what I can when I can. I honestly make an effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle. I carry my lunch and groceries in canvas bags way more often than not. I make an effort to buy local when I can. And I try to pay attention to my utility & fuel consumption, but I'm not willing to compromise comfort too much. Over the past several years I have developed a strong aversion to wastefulness. This is evident especially when friends ask why I don't pursue certain career options that seem like a good fit for me and my response includes how wasteful that particular industry can be.

I am blessed that most of my friends "get it" when I give those answers. And I have friends who do a much better job of encouraging and supporting sustainability than I do. Such is the case with my friend, Zoli. Zoli and his wife, Sjen, are very dear friends. Sjen is actually one of my very closest friends and I thank God for her regularly. So when I say they truly walk their talk when it comes to sustainability, I have first hand knowledge of this. So when you visit the website, Green of a Kind, that Zoli launched not too long ago, you can know he has not only done his research- he practices what he preaches. Here's a link to his website:

http://greenofakind.com/

And I can't neglect to mention my friends, Wendy & Dave in New Jersey. They started their own non-profit organization in their community called Sustainable West Milford. I can also vouch for their practices. When I stayed with them about a year ago we ate veggies grown in their community garden and all waste was collected for the compost pile, etc.

What motivates me personally to do my share is that taking care of our planet honors God. It matters to God what we do with His creation. And to practice the reduce, reuse, recycle lifestyle sometimes encourages my own creativity. Instead of throwing something away, I find myself considering if there is any way I can re-purpose that item. Can I create something artistic with it? Or can I use it for another practical purpose instead of purchasing more stuff to serve that purpose? To me, practicing sustainability exercises God's truth and grace. The truth is that if we don't start paying more attention to being eco-friendly our environment WILL (and does) suffer. And God's grace blesses us with creative minds to think of new ways to be green.

Lyrics du Jour- Hello Sandy Allen

I just learned that Sandy Allen passed away today. I can't think of a better tribute to her life than the lyrics of this Split Enz song:

Hello Sandy AllenThe world's tallest woman
We made friends in New York
Don't know if you'll remember
I'm bound to say I felt uneasy
when I first laid eyes on you
But I liked the way you talked
Like a living hoper
Towering over our heads in more ways than one
The hand that shook my hand was awesome
It still amazes me

Hope you're happy - Sandy Allen
Hope your garden is blooming
We're all staring at the mirror
tryin' to put our faces on
Appearance never held you back
Must be when you're number one
you don't have to try so hard

Hello Sandy Allen, hello Sandy Allen, hello...
Hope you're happy Sandy Allen
Hope your garden is blooming
We're all staring at the mirror
tryin' to put our faces on
Appearance never held you back
Must be when you're number one
you don't have to try so hard

Amen!

Lyrics du Jour - North Dakota

In honor of my recent fabulous trip to gorgeous Portland, Oregon I’m featuring the lyrics to North Dakota. What? Did I say that right? Yes, I did! See, while I was in Portland, Lyle Lovett was playing at the picturesque outdoor venue at Edgefield. And Lyle’s song, “North Dakota” is one of my favorites. I have seen Lyle do this song live in concert at least twice before and it nearly moved me to tears.

Here’s the catch- I didn’t get to see Lyle while we were both in Portland. The reason why was because I was at a wedding. While the wedding reception was lovely and fun, the weather that night was perfect and, truthfully, I would have rather been relaxing outside to the sounds of Lyle. The bride and groom probably would not have missed me and I could have enjoyed the show and pretended Lyle was dedicating “North Dakota” to them. So this post is my own little way of reconciling this by doing my own dedication of the lyrics of this beautiful & honest love song to Dave & Laura Jean:

“The boys in North Dakota, they drink their whiskey for their fun,
The cowboys down in Texas, they polish up their guns,
And they look across the border to learn the ways of love.

If you love me, say I love you,
If you love me, say I do (2x)
And you can say I love you,
And you can say I do.

So I drank myself some whiskey
And I dreamed I was a cowboy
And I rode across the border

If you love me, say I love you,
If you love me, take my hand (2x)
And you can say I love you,
And you can have my hand.

I remember in the morning, waking up,
With your arms around my head
You told me, you can sleep forever
And I’ll still hold you then.

Now the weather’s getting colder,
And it’s even cold down here,
And the words that you have told me,
Hang frozen in the air,
And sometimes I look right through them
As if they were not there

And the boys in North Dakota, they drink whiskey for their fun
And the cowboys down in Texas, they polish up their guns
And they look across the border to learn the ways of love.”

So here’s to the bride and groom! When the weather gets cold, your words of love hang frozen in the air, and you look right through them as if they were not there- remember to look across the border into each other’s eyes to learn the ways of love. And as stated in your vows, may you always treat each other as a newly discovered treasure.

A Prairie Home Companion

I'm sure I was the only girl in my Jr. High and High School to own a Garrison Keillor book. I don't remember how I discovered him, but I'm pretty sure it was not by listening to his radio show. I doubt I could tune that show in on my radio in my small Ohio hometown. All I know is that I got his humor and his sense of humanity...even though at that age I could never have articulated that deep of a connection. And it was reading his stories of Lake Wobegon that I probably had my first real thoughts of being a writer. Truman Capote had a similar effect on me. At any rate, whenever it was that I did first encounter "A Prairie Home Companion" it was instant love.

I confess that I don't remember to tune into it all that often. I suffer from that horrible affliction of "too busy" sickness. Although these days I can download the podcasts...and I still don't remember to do THAT even. And when I do catch the local broadcast of the show or download a podcast, it fills my heart with such joy and inspiration. The words genius, hilarious, and beautiful are commonly repeated aloud while listening. I do love the long-running favorites of Guy Noir, The News from Lake Wobegon (which has brought me to tears in every way possible), and The Catchup Advisory Board promos (a personal favorite). Recently I have heard him do a skit a few times involving a guy in his 40's named Duane and the phone calls he has with his parents. That skit is in the show this week. Way too funny! And the characters are stereotypical perfection.

Before I started writing this post, I visited the show's website for a little inspiration. There is a section called "Post to the Host" that features comments people have posted for Garrison and his responses to their questions or comments. I'm so glad I took a few minutes to read through those because it was an AHA! moment for me and how I'm wired. I will probably expand on that in a future post... but I might keep it to myself. There were a couple where Garrison responds by describing the rest of the picture as prompted by the initial post. His responses seem less about merely acknowledging the fan's post and more about enhancing the experience the fan mentions. I think that it's beautiful how he does that. Because that is so much like life. If we focus too much on one specific thing we noticed in the midst of a larger event we limit the fullness of the experience. My AHA! moment came while reading the follow-up comments made by other fans- too much to share here.

A few years ago I had the chance to see Garrison perform live here in Cincinnati. It was not a broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion." He was performing with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and he brought Robin & Linda Williams with him. I enjoyed it very much. AND, my favorite part of the experience was sitting next to an incarnation of my maternal grandparents. This couple I sat next to looked a lot like Naomi & Russ and behaved like them, too. Naomi had hearing aids she never wore so Russ had to repeat things to her regularly when she loudly complained she hadn't heard what was just said. This little old lady did exactly that! She opened her purse before the show started and looked at her hearing aids declaring "I don't want to fool with these tonight." Then had to ask her husband to repeat half of what Garrison was saying. I think they were lucky to be sitting next to me because most people would have been annoyed by this, but it tickled me pink! Furthermore, while speaking to them during intermission I found out the husband was a Methodist minister. Naomi's father was a Methodist minister. The show featured a couple of gospel songs and during the break the "Naomi clone" speculated loudly about whether the Jewish people in the audience were offended by the gospel music. It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud because that is EXACTLY what Naomi would have said!

The way Garrison tells a story makes me notice how the most seemingly trivial (some annoying) thing about a person's character can be the center of a climactic moment in a scene, whether it is joyful, beautiful, or heartbreaking. By portraying his characters with their complete truth he can create moments of solace in the midst of chaos. His stories set my thoughts about the people in my life, past (like Naomi & Russ) and present, in the context of grace.

Faith and Art: The Blog

My friend Stacie has a calling. It's a calling that I can relate to with every ounce of my being. Stacie has a relationship with God that inspires her to create art and to worship Him through art. Stacie and I share the belief that God is the ultimate Creator and that by being created by Him in His image that means we should delight in our own creativity. We are not, by any means, the only people who believe this. However, we are both saddened by the amount of people who love God yet shy away from their own creativity. And, it is not about whether you can only draw stick people or your entire house (and everything in it) is beige. To this end, Stacie was given a prompting by God to start the Faith and Art Blog. And I think, for Stacie, it was a bit like Noah building the ark. She launched the blog and then spent a good chunk of time on her own spiritual journey as to how it should look and WHY.

Recently, Stacie was asked to share her view on the connection of faith and art at a Sunday service of a new church in a Cincinnati suburb. She shared her favorite quote from her favorite book "Walking on Water" by Madeline L'Engle. I am copying it below as it is on the Faith and Art blog, embedded in an insightful paragraph written by Stacie:

"Let's be honest, the arts haven't always been compatible with Christianity. Sometimes it's because bad art gives all artists a bad name. Sometimes it's because art is inspired and therefore powerful and sometimes powerful can translate as dangerous. I think sometimes as Christians we are afraid to feel anything powerfully unless we feel it in church (or on a retreat, or small group or whatever.) And for a Christian to feel something so strong about something that is not blatently Christian? Can seem like we're somehow betraying God or our beliefs.

"And as I listen to the silence, I learn that my feelings about art and my feelings about the Creator of the Universe are inseparable. To try to talk about art and about Christianity is for me one and the same thing, and it means attempting to share the meaning of my life, what gives it, for me, its tragedy and its glory."

For L'Engle, finding "cosmos in chaos" is basically what determines "Christian" art from "Non-Christian" art. If you can look at a piece of artwork, read a book, sing a song that, while not necessarily being blatently Christian, makes you see some sort of divine meaning - cosmos, creation, life - in the chaos of a fallen world? Then it is good art. And it is Christian art. Because life, cosmos, creation? Are God. "

SO well said, Stacie! I am THRILLED that Stacie has found a new groove with her Faith and Art Blog and I invite you to explore new levels of your creativity by visiting it:

faithandart.blogspot.com

Stacie's new groove comes in the form of weekly lessons/challenges that people of all ages can tackle. And in each lesson she encourages a fresh perspective on how we see God's truth and grace in everyday things.

25th Post-iversary!

Welcome to my 25th Post-iversary! Since this is not a blog that literally documents my everyday life, nor does it spout off on hot topics or speak negatively about others - feel free to roam through my archives. Many of my posts contain ponderings that are poignant regardless of when I wrote them. Here's my personal Top 10 of the 25 posts, so far:

1) 50 First Dates - posted 12/5/07
2) Thing of Beauty - posted 12/8/07
3) Kirsty MacColl - posted 12/9/07
4) All Summer in a Day - posted 12/12/07
5) Sound of Music - posted 12/30/08
6) The Logical Song - posted 1/6/08
7) Humanity - posted 1/25/08
8) Reign Over Me - posted 1/27/08
9) U23D4ME - posted 2/10/08
10) Over the Rhine - posted 5/25/08

Thanks for pondering the Truth and Grace in everything with me!