Words of Fire Blog

Wednesday's Word: Welcome!

10/30/2013

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it."
Hebrews 13:2

My maternal grandmother first taught me about hospitality. Every first-time
visitor to her home was treated like royalty.    Granny refused to let
first-time guests serve themselves in any way: their slightest wish was her
command.   However, if you were invited back, you became family. Granny readily opened her heart and her home to students, church members, neighbors and distant relatives.

Her natural affinity for hospitality was probably developed during her early
adulthood, when she welcomed musicians from Pennsylvania Avenue’s jazz clubs
into her home. Those for whom hotels were prohibited found refuge in her neat
row house.   Although Granny showed me how a hostess should give, it is from
my young niece that I once learned that a hostess receives.

My niece used to attend a Christian elementary school located across the street from our church. I remember an unplanned visit after having attended the funeral of a breast cancer victim, borne out of my personal need to receive some small taste of life. With the eulogy fresh in my brain and the tears still choking my throat, I walked to my niece’s school–just to take a peek at her.   Upon seeing me in the doorway, my niece jumped from her desk and ran to embrace me as only an uninhibited child can. "Auntie!" she cried, squeezing me with a grip that would have done a Sumo wrestler proud. Children can strip one of preferences and self-centeredness, can't they?   We must make ourselves available to love them, in spite of what we may or may not receive. Therein comes the sacrifice. However, we also receive a gift.

What I received that warm October day long ago reminded me of all that is precious and sacred. As I accept my  need to be embraced and accepted, God does not disappoint. I return the embrace, comforted beyond measure by the reminder in that angels really exist in this death-ridden and sorrowful world.

I have been enfolded by the One who holds the world in His hands. I have received more than I have given.   The wonder of hospitality is not that we are able to give, but that God gives to us.   His desire is to embrace us in unexpected places.   As
we entertain, we find friends, we find family, and we see the shining face of
the Divine.

Wednesday's Word: Falling To Rise

10/23/2013

I love the fall: the crisper air, the honking of geese flying south; the glorious colors that overtake the trees, as if by surprise. (It helps, too, that  my birthday is in the fall, but that's for another post...)

Unlike summer, when I run indoors for air conditioning, the fall seems more welcoming to me; the landscape more open. I take long prayer walks and breathe deeply the world in transition.  I bake cookies and bread.  I cook large pots of soup from leftovers. I light fires in my fireplace.

At the same time, I am reminded of those who find the approaching winter isolating and lonely. I cannot fully enjoy my blessings without blessing others.

How do you invite this wondrous and changing world into your everyday experience?  How do you celebrate the different seasons? Dorothy Bass, author of Receiving the Day asserts that "time itself is made holy by the presence of God." When we view time as a gift, and not a burden, we can become more open to live life more fully. But it's more than that: Sharing our time means that we are willing to share our lives, and shouldn't we? The Resurrection of spring; the excitement of Christmas; the harvests of the fall--all are meant to be shared, meant to be holy, meant to bless others.

Each day brings its own grace.  Each season brings its own celebrations. May we fully enter this season, join the celebration, and find joy at every rising of the sun.

Wednesday's Word: Moving

10/16/2013

Blessing
On each threshold, wisdom;
at every doorway, love;
through every entry, grace;
with each beginning, peace.
Jan L. Richardson

My elderly next door neighbor moved out of her home yesterday. Our houses shared a wall, but our hearts had found a home in each other. Over the past decade, we traded coffee, sugar, baked goods, and quips.

My dog enjoyed sitting on her porch on cool summer evenings while we talked of everything and nothing. She often watched for me from her bedroom window to make sure that I had gotten home safely on late work nights.

However, as her children have wisely found, her body can no longer handle the multiple levels of these houses. She would be more comfortable on one floor. I understand, and know that it's best, but still I find myself looking at the now-empty windows and feeling sad. I know that someday a well meaning younger relative will be moving me, too. But I know that I will be blessed with each new beginning, as I have been blessed by her in this place.

Friday's Fire: Guest Post by Michelle Graham of the ChristianCrush* Team

10/10/2013

I often hear the lament of fellow singles that they are waiting for the "perfect" mate. We all deserve God's best. Graham's post tells us how some of these expectations may hinder, instead of help, our relationships.
Enjoy her fire!

Do Christian Dating Sites Make You Harder to Please?

Christian dating sites may actually make it harder for some to find a mate. An online survey from earlier this year reveals that, while most people approach love and dating using more modern methods, many of them remain old-fashioned: they still believe in love at first sight. Nearly 46 percent of those surveyed said they believed that God had "one" right person for them.

What's most surprising to many is that more men than women believe that love at first sight exists.

Women are stereotypically viewed as more romantic than men, but if the results of this online survey are any reflection of the broader population's beliefs, then it seems that women aren’t the ones who are overwhelmingly enchanted by romance.   Some online dating experts are nervous about such results–-it seems that hoping for too much romance can lead to unrealistic expectations from a date or, eventually, a marriage partner.

According to Pastor Timothy Keller, the more romance a person expects, the less able they are to leave room for mistakes and human frailties.

Christian Mingle’s community manager advises that the best way to find a good marriage partner is to form friendships first (which essentially nixes the idea of love at first sight). Christian dating sites can be helpful for finding people who share your faith, but be careful they don’t make you more picky.

Attraction is certainly a huge part of dating, but you need to avoid thinking patterns that thrust you into a cycle of never-ending dates and a never-ending search for "the one." Instead, slow down the courting process and really invest in the people you are getting to know.  Develop close and lasting relationships. Don't expect perfection: Realize that one of God’s greatest purposes in marriage is to refine two  imperfect people  so that they can become more like Him.

*ChristianCrush.com aims to be the most authentic, innovative, and trustworthy site on the web for believers to connect.

Interested in reading more about healthy relationships?
Check out ChristianCrush!

Article Source: Eryn Sun, Christian Dating Site Finds Singles Still Believe in Love at First Site,  The Christian Post, Retrieved on August 26, 2013

Wednesday's Word: Your Beach Body

10/9/2013

I had the pleasure of basking in the Caribbean sunshine last week. I had intended to drop that last five pounds before I hit the beach looking less than bikini ready, but didn't. So I purchased the swimsuits that promised to tuck and tighten where my ab crunches had not.  I did not want to show the bulges; I wanted to hide what I viewed as my body's imperfections.

Other people at the beach had a different approach. A fellow sun bather whose bathing suit did nothing to hide her less than firm places was preparing herself to enjoy the tropical warmth--I wondered why she hadn't gone for a striped look (that's supposed to slim one down, I hear). Then I saw it. The pink survivor's cap. She had lived through breast cancer. She had lived to see another sunset, another sunrise and another glorious day on the beach.  She had fought for the right to flaunt her body at the beach.

What about you?  Have you survived what life has thrown at you?  If you have lived to see another day, the world needs to see you. The world needs to know that you, like the rest of us, are imperfectly perfect: flabby abs, horizontal stripes and all. Don't tuck. You had the baby. Don't tighten. You got through the surgery, the radiation treatments, the unemployment, the chemotherapy and the divorce. Don't camouflage. We know that it hurt, and you've got the scars to prove it. We don't want an illusion. We want to know that we, too, can survive.

Show us your beach body.  Show us who you really are and we will celebrate in the sun, together, scars and all.

Wednesday's Word: The Sound of Music

10/2/2013

There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of
the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if
you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of
strings that somebody else pulls.
Howard Thurman

The Australian Didgeridoo

I recently attended a calligraphy workshop--a self-indulgent treat to my amateur skill set. During the workshop's first exercise, our instructor played music and asked us to paint what we "heard."

One piece which featured the Australian didgeridoo, sparked a creative wildfire. My brush leapt across the page, almost as if by some unseen force. Raucous reds, impatient oranges and joyous yellows danced together. Fellow students later displayed their work, and many of them were inspired by the same piece. However, no two resembled each other. It seemed that where I had heard electric sunshine, others responded with quiet pastel purity or subtle earth tones of the savannah.

As a storyteller, I have to trust the words to speak, but I cannot dictate how others will react. My responsibility is to create a space where my audience can be free to hear what Thurman calls the "sound of the genuine" in themselves. At the same time, we must tune our listening ear and to hear the cries of injustice, pain and suffering. Not every story I tell has a happy ending; not every song we hear brings us joy.

May we ever hear the music all around us, and be genuine enough to paint, to sing, and to follow the path that leads us to our best and truest selves.