Intersections

We can miss the joy of daily life while working to save up time and/or money to enjoy life. Every day, tiny miracles around us go unnoticed because we can lose perspective in the bigger picture, dreams of someday, or even just hope can seem far away. We moved into our current house right about a year ago. We, especially Tadj, were looking forward to all the gardens around our house. We didn’t know if bulbs were in the ground that we would see pop up in the spring or what other plants there may be. Come spring, though, when all the blooms were popping out of the ground, we were blessed with lilies and other beautiful flowers all over our yard. More recently, unknown to me, someone had planted sunflowers in the garden. It might even have been the birds. Sometimes, doing interrupts being. We have plenty of things to do on any given day. But how much have you thought about the being? How many times have you sat with yourself to just be who you are? Does that make you uncomfortable? It s

       Growing up as a kid, I thought hidden things were much more plentiful than I found out. In the movies, there were happened to be resources around for the heroes to finish their task, or the villains to either give up or to be foiled, like in the Goonies where there’s a wacky kid who (happens) to have an inventor as a father and likes to tinker himself. He has gadgets that no average kid would have that helps get the friends continuing on their journey. But once those kids got to the pirates’ treasure - they were overjoyed! They found something that they thought was only a lost story of time. Who knows, maybe had someone gotten there first, it would have been!   Life isn’t like the movies, though. A team of writers can craft a whole world from a single brainstorming session. Though with the right spark, that’ll light the way to find the treasures. But as the writing goes on, they seek the words to create a story that will outlive them. OK - well, let’s take a high level vi

     What’s the strangest thing you’ve eaten? I occasionally like to try new things. There’s been a list around Facebook that lists things like a snake, possum, or famously includes haggis for a few years. For those who don’t know, it’s a traditional Scottish dish, made of sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs, and among spices and other flavorings, but wrapped in the animal’s stomach like a casing for sausage. I don’t mean to turn your stomach so early in the morning, but that is something strange. The weirdest thing that I have ever eaten is blood sausage. I spent Christmas in Norway about fifteen years ago, where it is a traditional dish to make for the holiday. Just even talking about it, I get the memory back. The family I was with waited in anticipation for my reaction and laughed when I didn’t have the nerve to finish. It has a strong flavor, and yet the spices still didn’t cover up the apparent blood taste.       Anyway - I digress. As much as this is not the best church conversa

          My wife and I were trying to put Aaron to bed the other night. As soon as we wanted to get his pajamas on, he shouts, “I’m hungry!!!” It’s a pretty common experience in my house, and Aaron isn’t known for being the most consistent eater. So I said, had you eaten your dinner, you probably wouldn’t be hungry right now. Then it hit me. This is kind of what Jesus is saying in this passage for our gospel reading today.             As we left off last week, the people are standing right in front of Jesus, wanting him to fulfill all their earthly needs, not even realizing what else heaven could be asking of them. And they’re saying, “I’m still hungry!!!” And Jesus shouting back, like a parent tired of arguing with their child, “I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE!! I’M RIGHT HERE!! Let me teach you; let me feed your brains and hearts and souls.” Now, this is maybe a bit of a leap, but as children of God, that perhaps rings more true than I want it to, even for me.            The crowd has gon

     I hope last week’s message was satisfying for you - but thanks for getting hungry for more Jesus because there are two more weeks in our food and faith series.      Last week, more specifically, we talked about food insecurity and how a significant portion of our community struggles with affordability and access to fresh food. We may have needed to talk about how for some, it’s not quite as dire as not knowing where your next meal is coming from, but sometimes about tricky choices - do I eat or pay rent? Do I eat or buy school supplies? When resources are scarce, food gets placed on the table, though not in the way we’d like it to be. One facet is in an area where fresh and affordable food is inaccessible. These places are called food deserts, which means that there are no local means to get groceries. They either have to drive far out of their neighborhood or use fast food or gas station food, which is not the healthiest.      According to a study put out by United Way of Allen