Leigh Kramer

Finding Beauty in the Church

Photo via Ascension Catholic Church

I stepped inside Ascension Catholic Church unsure of what to expect. Not because it was a Catholic church. Thanks to my extended family, I've been to my fair share of Masses. But we weren't there for Mass that night. This was a Taizé service, my first.

We stumbled over the word Taizé. No one seemed to know the correct pronunciation, which added to the mystery. Its purpose, however, was clear: to foster peace and reconciliation among all people...

I'm honored to participate in the At The Lord's Table series at Preston Yancey's today. I loved the concept when Preston first explained it to me and knew exactly what I'd write about. But I was surprised to find myself crying while I wrote. I needed this reminder. Maybe you do, too. Please head over to read the rest and let us know where you experience the beauty of the Church.

To learn more about Taizé's roots:

The Taizé Community

Wikipedia

Videos of Taizé songs

Taizé services in Nashville

What I'm Into (January Edition)

I must say January is shaping up to be my favorite month of 2012 so far. That it's the only month we've seen this year is a minor issue.

Read and Reading: 

I'm not sure I can properly convey how much I loved Nelson Mandela's autobiography Long Walk to Freedom. Everyone should read it for the history of South Africa, insight's into Mandela's life, and reflections on race relations and the injustices that occur around the world. It is surprisingly well written and even handed. He recognizes his missteps where appropriate and the gift of hindsight is readily apparent as he covers the years leading up to his inauguration as president of South Africa. It made me want to learn more about what happened after he became leader of the country he fought for- beyond what I learned from the movie Invictus. What struck me the most was how ordinary Mandela was but how the choices and decisions he made propelled him to become extraordinary. How inspiring is that?

Thomas Nelson sent me a complimentary copy of the young adult book First Date (McGee). It's kind of The Bachelor goes to high school mixed with Win a Date with Tad Hamilton. It's loosely based on Esther but it wasn't heavy handed with the parallels. Addy seems an introverted character, which we don't find too often. At times, the book went the predictable route but there were a few surprises I never saw coming. I don't want to give it away but I felt the ending could have been more satisfying. I could've done without the murdered missionary parents subplot and wish Addy's beliefs about dating had been more clear. Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable read.

I reviewed Raised Right: How I Untangled My Faith From Politics (Harris) here and Every Body Matters (Thomas) here.

Currently reading: The Language of Flowers (Diffenbaugh), Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (Simonson), When Helping Hurts (Corbett and Fikkert), and The War of Art (Pressfield).

Also reading Introverts in the Church (McHugh). I described it in this post as "mind-blowing." I'm going to have much to say once I'm finished. Because you guys? Myers-Briggs has told me I'm an extrovert instead of acknowledging my many, many introvert tendencies. Have I been masking myself as an extrovert all these years?

On deck: The Resignation of Eve: What If Adam's Rib is No Longer Willing to be the Church's Backbone? (Henderson).

(I read 5 books this month. Still low but Mandela's book was 625 pages. That's got to count for something.)

TV: My must-see TV: Once Upon a Time, Downton Abbey, Revenge, Parenthood, Parks & Rec, The New Girl, The Vampire Diaries

People have all sorts of opinions on the start of Downton Abbey's second season. But personally? I love it. I love the characters, the plot development, and especially the witty dialogue. I can only imagine how I'm going to feel by the end of the season, where I've been assured all manner of good stuff occurs.

If you love Once Upon a Time, definitely weigh in at SortaCrunchy's weekly OUAT Tuesday posts. Great discussion about themes, who characters could be, and filtering through the prevalent theories.

Movies: The Swell Season documentary, a must-see for any fans of the movie Once 

Moneyball, which made me so excited for Spring Training to begin. I know it wasn't a competely accurate reflection of the A's season that year. It neglects to mention the team's star players, including my favorite White Sox Jermaine Dye (though I did hear his name on some game footage!) But as far as going into the psyche and persona of Billy Beane, the film more than delivers. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill especially brought their characters to life in their scenes together. The behind-the-scenes action of trading players and the like was fascinating to this baseball fan.

Music: I saw The Civil Wars play their first show at the Ryman. Hallelujah and glory be (a few reflections here, mixed in with thoughts about The Swell Season doc)

New discoveries: The Head and the Heart (via Natalie Lloyd), Seryn (via Jess Bertram), Sarah Hart, Among Savages, Wye Oak (via @ineffablegod), David Robbins (via Knox McCoy), Walk Off the Earth (via Shawn Smucker)

I am obsessed with Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know. Obsessed. I heard it a couple of months ago but didn't pursue it any further until the local radio station played it again last month. Now I can't get enough. I've listened to some of his other stuff- and it's great- but really I just want to listen to this song on repeat.

In the Blogosphere:

So I had a birthday and then my dear bloggy BFF-turned real life bestie Mary Kathryn surprised me with this post all about our friendship and what she appreciates about me. I was stunned by her generosity.

Preston Yancey had the idea to celebrate the Church by hosting a huge guest post series: At The Lord's Table. More than 50 people are taking over Preston's blog to reflect on the "the beauty of the Church, warts and all." Look for my contribution there tomorrow afternoon!

This Deeper Story post about the Church by Sara Sophia gave me absolute goosebumps. Absolutely beautiful.

During this in between season of my life, I didn't realize how much I needed this reminder from Emily Freeman over at (in)courage: For When Your Future Keeps Changing.

Surely you've already read this fantastic piece by Momastery blogger Glennon Melton over at Huffington Post: Don't Carpe Diem. Great perspective, even for those of us who aren't parents yet.

Every single piece written this past month at My Tropic of Cancer. Her beautiful writing blows me away each and every time. I find myself wanting to copy and post the same comment: beautiful, lovely, goosebumps, thank you.

I was fascinated by How Doctors Die. For those of us who have worked in end of life care, the sentiments will not be surprising. I can only hope that it will move the conversation forward on a national level. Consider what certain treatments entail and what will give you the best quality of life.

Excellent, inspiring piece illustrating grace. Oh, that I could be this kind of person!

What Single People Wish Married People Knew. "We already struggle with feeling like we lack when we wonder why we haven’t been chosen. Please don’t cut that wound deeper." The Sexy Celebate is spot on.

What have you been into this month?

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Our Body, Our Faith

Our bodies are God's temples. We read the verse and file it away, often with little thought about direct application. I started to wrestle with that notion when I participated in the Made to Crave Readalong last year. But if you guessed that my interest waned in other directions once the Readalong finished, you're right. I made a few changes but I've stopped short of what I should do.

What is the relationship between our bodies and our faith?

Every Body Matters (Gary Thomas) seeks to answer that question, while challenging the church to move forward.

The premise of the book is that we should take seriously the heed in 2 Timothy. He writes: "The true Christian life is a life in which holiness is a serious pursuit and a believer earnestly makes himself or herself 'useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.'"

We are to view our bodies as instruments God can use. Therefore, anything detrimental for our bodies is detrimental to God's work. The way we care for ourselves now can dramatically impact how long we'll live and under which conditions.

Thomas emphasizes that we should be good stewards of our bodies. What sets it apart from other books in the Health genre is the motivation for such activities. By tying our physical well-being in to our spiritual well-being and viewing it as discipleship, Thomas shows how one impacts the other and how neglecting our physical well-being can have a multitude of consequences.

He takes care to say that losing weight is not the goal, nor is being overweight a sin in and of itself. But he does feel that churches should take a more active role in the health of their congregations. Instead of a weekly potluck, for instance, a church could organize a Saturday morning hike.

Personally, I hope viewing myself as God's instrument will be motivation to work out consistently and eat healthier. I would like to stick around for some time to come.

The author's viewpoint is that churches do not confront their members on being grossly overweight. He states that it's something we tend to overlook, perhaps out of fear of hurting someone's feelings. We all know people who have been bullied and teased because of their weight so it does make sense that we would want to tread carefully in these matters.  However, he makes the point that if we know poor habits can profoundly shorten someone's life, then why wouldn't we speak up to prevent premature death? This is an excellent point...if we have a relationship in place with the person in mind. While he says we should speak the truth in love, I wish he would have offered suggestions on how to approach these matters.

He briefly notes that he does not want Every Body Matters to sway people toward excessive exercise or an eating disorder. Nor does he want it be an excuse for us to judge others. He rightly says that the church should be a place of healing and acceptance. We don't know the reasons why people are the shape they are in. For instance, an overweight person could be on steroids for a medical condition.

Thomas uses personal examples, as well as those of people he interviewed to illustrate his points. He also provides history about the way the church handled matters of health traditionally, including sermons directed specifically toward the sins of gluttony and laziness. Two things that we rarely receive teaching on today.

Thomas provides helpful guidance as to what churches could do differently, along with individuals. He suggests how to incorporate exercise in to our lives and provides a framework for how to approach our struggles when it comes to forming healthier habits. For these reasons, I feel Every Body Matters could be a useful book for many.

However, there were three groups that were not addressed that should have been: people with eating disorders, disabilities, and chronic or terminal illness. Since Thomas' framework is one of discipleship, it's important to address those who can not discipline their bodies in a traditional way.

For this reason, the book is a step in the right direction. I hope we can continue this much-needed conversation in our own bodies of faith.

What do you believe about the relationship between physical health and spirituality?

Disclosure: I was provided a free copy of Every Body Matters from Zondervan with no expectation that I would provide a positive review. The thoughts, opinions, and reactions are entirely my own.

Disclosure: Amazon Affiliate links included in this post. If you click through to Amazon from HopefulLeigh, I'll get a few pennies to help support this site. Thanks for your support!

This Is How We Met: a new series

Every love story starts out the same: two people meet. There's a dizzying array of possibilities after that.

Sometimes the connection is instant; other times the pair loathe each other. Sometimes one person doesn't know the other exists. Sometimes it takes a few false starts before the romance becomes apparent. Or maybe they're friends for years before they start seeing each other in a new light.

"Tell me how you met." That was my favorite part of meeting new patients while I was a hospice social worker. Because no two stories were the same, even if they both started out at the same dance hall in Chicago.

I often marvel at how marriages come to be. If he had not stood in that particular corner, if she hadn't been running late for a meeting. Or she was dating someone else but he patiently waited just the same. Or, and this may be my favorite, if she hadn't asked him to dance.

At times, it seems a miracle that people fall in love and walk down the aisle.

On the days that I seem particularly bewildered by the notion of true love, I repeat to myself: it only has to happen once.

I've hated Valentine's Day for a long time. It's a cliche, I know. The single girl hating the Hallmark holiday. This past year I've intentionally appreciated the love already in my life, as inspired by this moving post from Tea. I know that I am very loved, even if my great romance hasn't yet occurred. I am amazed by the wonderful people in my life. Love really is all around us (bonus points if you name the movie).

Something about Valentine's Day makes me feel like friends and family aren't enough compared to Mr. Right. It makes me angry that my mind and heart so easily forget. I don't want to go down that tired road again this year.

In November 2011, I was struck by an idea. My own way of redeeming Valentine's Day. Starting February 1, 2012, I'm kicking off a new series called This Is How We Met.

(The Twitter hashtag will be #TIHWM, since it's apparently not a blog series until you have a hashtag. Or something like that.)

I've asked real life friends and blog friends to share their stories of how they met their spouse. After all, every marriage began with a first date. Something singles can relate to all too well.

I want this series to encourage those of us still looking.There's an intangible quality to why some relationships work out and others don't. Dating can be awkward, complicated, and exciting all in one. I hope that by hearing these stories, you will walk the path before you openly and adventurously. Because, seriously, we don't know how or if it will happen so you might as well enjoy the ride in the meantime.

I also want it to encourage those of you who are married- to look back and reflect on how your relationship has changed and grown since those initial days. Selfishly, I hope that by remembering those days before you knew your spouse was the one, you will better understand the single people in your life.

When I asked my friends to share their TIHWM story, I was blown away by the response. What was to initially be a February feature will now be an on-going series. I am so beyond words excited to share these stories with you.

If you've been married at least one year and you'd like to have your TIHWM story featured here, please read the guest post guidelines. The piece should be between 400-800 words and should include a short bio.  If you're really awesome, include a picture of you and your spouse from that time. You can decide which aspect of your dating life to focus on- whether the first time you met was inconsequential, the stuff of fairy tales, or no one believed the relationship would work. Don't give us the overview though- tell us about the beginning of your relationship, before you knew how it would all work out. You don't need to have a blog to contribute.

Submissions for TIHWM are currently closed.

Maybe one day I'll write my own TIHWM post. Until then, I'll enjoy and learn from yours.

TIHWM stories

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On Hearing the Voice of God

Tomorrow I'll be introducing you all to a new series I'm starting here. I can't wait! I'm beyond words excited about it and hope you will be, too. The series will be comprised of guest posts, however, so I'm trying to get a few last posts in before ye olde blog is taken over for the next month. Hence, I'm straying from my three times a week schedule right now. Don't worry though. You'll still hear from me occasionally in February.

I've never heard the audible voice of God. He speaks to me through scripture but most often through lyrics, books, and people.

That's why what I'm about to tell you still doesn't make much sense to me. Because God doesn't communicate concrete, specific details to me either. I know He operates this way with a few of my friends but never me. He might give a one word response (yes, no, wait) to whatever I'm praying about but that's about it. He's surprisingly communicative in his uncommunicativeness though.

About a week before Christmas, I came home from a show and tumbled in to bed. I was still revved up from fried pickles and good music so I knew it would be awhile before sleep found me. I read my Bible and started to pray about a certain situation, which naturally segued in to the other matters concerning my heart.

While I was praying, I had two very clear impressions. They came out of the blue. The contents were rather surprising.

And because God had never spoken to me like this before, I questioned whether it was Him or not. Was this my subconscious taking over, telling me something I wanted to hear?

I've shared the impressions with less than a handful of people. That is how uncertain and surprised I am. Because I really, truly do want to believe that this was God responding and reassuring. But I don't want to get my hopes up. I don't want to be disappointed if these things don't happen.

I guess I won't know for sure though whether it was Him until the end of the year. These two things dance around my head, popping up at the oddest times. When I chose Hope as my OneWord365, you'd better believe God prompted me to hope in the truth of these impressions. And so I'm trying to hope.

I got a bracelet in the mail the other day with Hope stamped on it. I put it on my left wrist so my tattoo wouldn't be lonely. I saw Hope resting beneath Beloved and was reminded anew that God loves giving good gifts and that He knows what will be for my best and His glory.

And just in case I hadn't gotten the message, two nights ago I read these words in Adam McHugh's mind-blowing book Introverts in the Church:

"God's speech to introverts may come in the form of inward thoughts or impulses, ideas that spring out at us, or words, images or feelings that surprise us or cut against the grain of our natural tendencies...She has occasional moments in which a thought will pounce in from an unknown source, and then she knows God has joined the conversation in her head." -p. 75, 76

For now, I will wait and I will believe that I did hear God that night and that these things will come to pass. What do I have to lose?

How does God speak to you? Have you ever experienced anything like this?