Traveling Thoughts

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." -John 13:34 This was it; this was the last time that all the disciples would be together with Jesus before he was killed. After three years spent together in the trenches of ministry: serving, healing, teaching, feeding, etc. it led them all to this last evening together around a table celebrating the Passover Meal. The first disciples probably thought they learned everything they could from Jesus, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  “Maundy” is derived from the Latin word for command. On Maundy Thursday, the Thursday of Holy Week, Jesus did many new things: 1.       He began the Passover meal by washing the feet of each of his disciples, which symbolized a service of friendship and a mutual sharing of gifts. In the foot washing, Jesus challenges his disciples to do the same for each other, and to see that they are all equal in the K...

After the Hebrew people left their life of oppressive enslavement to the Egyptians, they found themselves wandering in the wilderness. One can't wander in the wilderness without learning and understanding more of what it means to follow God. When the Hebrew people were enslaved, they knew what to expect, and therefore, probably believed their own strength and sheer will saw them through. However, in the wilderness they were faced with the unexpected and the unknown on a daily basis. At times, they trusted and were faithful in their wandering which brought peace that transcended in the midst of an unknown future. In the Exodus store we read however, that there were more times of mumbles and grumbles (even talk about turning around and going back to what was known being in bondage and slavery) than stories of blind faith. It was words of complaint but underneath the words was a real panic and fear. It’s really easy to read stories of our ancestors of faith and think we would ha...

My brother and I are 15 months apart, practically Irish twins, and you couldn’t get more Irish with names like "Katie and Patrick" and my brother being born on St. Patrick’s Day. While we grew up in the same household and share the same parents, there are more ways that we are different than we are alike. While we share having curly hair, the same nose, and blue eyes - even standing next to each other people wouldn’t believe we were related let alone siblings. When it comes to disposition, we were on opposite ends of the spectrum as children. Being the older sibling, teachers having my brother the next year were often shocked to find out that we were related. Growing up we both shared a love of climbing any and all things but mostly trees! While we both started out fearless in conquering the scaling of branches and seeing how high we could get, our reaction to getting down was much different. Sure, it was all fun and games when we were climbing and looking out into t...

Holy Week invites us into a story of betrayal, abandonment, mockery, violence, and ultimately death. So, it makes sense then that there a natural tendency to want to rush from the pain of Good Friday to the celebration of Easter Sunday.  Instead, we are invited on this day to sit in the sacred space of instead of Holy Saturday. Not only is it a sacred space, it is a wild place because of the unknown as it lingers between the suffering and death of Jesus on Friday and the resurrection of Easter Sunday. Holy Saturday is a reminder of the human conditions and is an invitation to let go of things or people, identities or securities and then wonder what will rise up out of the ashes of our lives. Anytime we find ourselves in pain, grief, sorrow, or suffering there is the haunting question, “Will I ever experience joy again?” Our lives are full of Holy Saturday experiences. So, before we rush to resurrection we must fully dwell in the space of in between. The liminal place o...

"What is an 'Any-a-gram?'" I asked. "It's called the 'ENNEAGRAM! " my friend retorted. My first introduction to the Enneagram was in January 2017 at the UMC Lead Conference  in Charlotte, North Carolina. I could barely say the word, let alone begin to spell it. People from the conference encouraged me to start my Enneagram journey on the drive home by listening an episode from The Liturgists' podcast. I imagine this advice came because it was safer listening to a podcast than reading a book while driving. It was two hours , but it was so engaging I barely noticed the time and after it ended, I was eager to learn more. It's episode 37 in case you want to check it out for yourself. The Enneagram is perhaps best defined by Enneagram author and expert Suzanne Stabile as, "nine ways of seeing and nine ways of processing our experiences in the world. Additionally, there are nine ways of answering some of life's basic ques...

Five years ago today, I was in Cambodia with a group from Methodist Theological School in Ohio . This group spent two weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia for a cross-cultural immersion .  When I start any trip, as a way to reflect daily, I make room in 3 pages these prompts: ·       First Time ·       Person of the Day ·       Kodak Moments This is a practice I started as a teenager thanks to the coaching of a mentor. I have found this way to reflect and remember on trips so meaningful that I encourage others to do some sort of daily reflection practice too. Hence the "Pro Tip" post.  How often do you go on a trip and return home with many stories to share or find yourself unable to fully articulate your experience? This idea is one way to tangibly share your story with others.  Kodak Moments are moments that will continue to stick with you post trip and moments that yo...

The countdown is on – there are only a few more hours left before the end of the year! Once again, in the last few hours and minutes of the year, I find myself processing what has taken place and looking toward the future with a spirit of hope. This end of year reflection on the power of words is something that I’ve found to be a helpful and meaningful practice.  One of the quotes that I’ve found meaningful when moving into a new season, year, etc. and not wanting to take the baggage that is the past is this "Yearning for a new way will not produce it. Only ending the old way can do that. You cannot hold onto the old, all the while declaring that you want something new. The old will defy the new; The old will deny the new; The old will decry the new. There is only one way to bring in the new. You must make room for it." -Neal Donald Walsch  2018 – Celebrate In thinking through the word I would select for 2018, I was inspired by Colony House’s “Mo...