Be Quiet

I'm learning how to be quiet.  It's a discipline that I have talked in circles about for a year or two, but have never quite figured out how to master.  

Living in our quasi-empty house a couple of nights per week is harder than it seems.  While we still have furniture there and it's completely comfortable, we have none of our "stuff" there and no cable or internet.  What on earth is a girl to do?  Oh, wait....You mean I can write and blog and journal and read and create and think and pray and meditate and do all of those things that I claim to never have time to do?  And yet, I find every excuse to add noise back into my life.  I go to the gym for 2 hours (not a bad thing, but I do think I'm stalling at some point), I go get dinner, I run to a store to pick up a gift, I head to CVS, and when I actually decide to go home and face the quiet that I'm dreading, I turn on an audiobook  

Noise.

None of the things I'm doing to fill my time are bad things to do.  And in fact, I am trying to enjoy the opportunity to get things done without a three-year old in tow.  But I am continually recognizing my inability to enjoy and reflect in the quiet times I've been given.  I don't consciously dread the quiet, but I certainly don't embrace it either.  I need to be better.  I need to retrain myself to turn off the noise.  I need to be able to function without the internet, tv, or even the constant music access I find as an escape.

It's so much easier to say than do.  I am wondering if I could go on a "noise fast."  Even for a day.  Perhaps that will be my self-challenge next week when I am back in Dallas.  Go straight home to my empty house and not be allowed to turn on any music, make phone calls, etc.  Just me, God, and the quiet.  

Challenge accepted.  The Quiet Game begins on June 19th.

Ordained

Tonight, I attended the Ordination Ceremony for the North Texas Annual Conference.  It was one of the most powerful worship services I have ever experienced.  The power of a room filled with 1500 people  - all joyfully singing praises to our God and celebrating the approximately 15 individuals who have committed their lives to ministry in one form or another – is immeasurable.  One could see, hear, and feel God in the sanctuary for over two hours.

I loved the pastor who gave the sermon tonight.  He was a “big, burly black man,” as described by Bishop Bledsoe in his introduction.  And boy, was he ever.  From someone who usually attends a primarily white church, where we have trouble even singing some songs because they feel too much like a spiritual, I love hearing a sermon preached by a man who can get the entire <mostly stiff> congregation to shout “AMEN!”  His delivery was unlike any I’ve ever seen.  He used words, his tone of voice, his feet, twirling in circles, and lots of hand gestures to get his point across.  Most notably, he used the power of the Holy Spirit to preach the Word.  I am thankful that he answered his calling years ago so that he could be put into such a place as our service tonight.

The Bishop was intently focused on how inadequate we are from the day we accept our calling.  He reminded us that this is not “our ministry,” but God’s ministry!”  It doesn’t matter where you are, how important you may feel you are in the church, how good your sermons are, or anything else.  What matters is that you wait upon the Lord.  What matters is that you get out of the way so that the Holy Spirit can work through you.  What matters to you is that you walk alongside those who are hurting and who need the love of Jesus demonstrated to them on a daily basis.  What matters is that you give people the hope of the Risen Christ.  It’s God’s ministry that we are privileged to share in through service to others.  May we each remember daily that our calling – whether full-time ministry or otherwise – includes waiting, discerning, praying, seeking, and most of all, loving.  What a beautiful affirmation for all who were ordained or commissioned tonight, and what a beautiful reminder for each of us.

Can I get an “AMEN?”