There is a song called, " I want to be in the light." written by Charlie Peacock that has been one of my favorites for a long time. I was first introduced to the song after winning a 3 cassette set of Charlie Peacock's from a local christian radio station years ago. Every chance I could get I'd play those cassettes in the tape deck of my little Ford Escort hatchback. I wore out the cassette before I wore out the car.
There is such a contrast between darkness and light. Sometimes the space between seems impossible to pass through. Biblically speaking, when Moses went up to the mountian to receive the ten commandments, the physical nature of his face was changed. His face seemed to "glow"! When Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to the top of the mountain to pray, his face's appearance changed and his clothes became dazzling white!
When we draw near to G-d, we soak up the light like a thirsty sponge. When we walk away from G-d, we dry up like a sponge without water. Soaking or dry, light or dark are contrasts that make spiritual and physical sense. Maybe the reason I wore out the tape with that song on it all those years ago was because I was thirsty or needing a little light in my life.
We all need refreshment and light in order to live. "I want to be in the light as You are in the light, I want to shine like the stars in the heavens..."
I keep trying to find a life On my own apart from you I am the king of excuses I've got one for every selfish thing I do
(Tell me) what's going on inside of me I despise my own behavior (This only) serves to confirm my suspicions That I'm still a man in need of a Savior
(CHORUS) I wanna be in the Light as You are in the Light I wanna shine like the stars in the Heavens Oh, Lord be my light and be my Salvation 'cause all I want is to be in the Light All I want is to be in the Light
This disease of self runs through my blood (through my blood) It's a cancer fatal to my soul Every attempt on my behalf has failed to bring this sickness under control
Tell me what's going on inside of me (Whats going on) I despise my own behavior (Despise my own behavior) This only serves to confirm my suspicions That I'm still a man in need of a Savior
I wanna be in the Light as You are in the Light I wanna shine like the stars in the Heavens Oh, Lord be my Light and be my Salvation 'cause all I want is to be in the Light (yeah) All I want is to be in the Light
(BRIDGE) Honesty becomes me [There's nothing left to lose] The secrets that did run me [Your presence have defused] Pride has no position [As riches have no worth] The fame that once did cover me [Has been sentenced to this Earth] Has been sentenced to this Earth
Tell me what's going on inside of me (What’s going on) I despise my own behavior (Despise my own behavior) This only serves to confirm my suspicions That I'm still a man in need of a Savior
I wanna be in the Light as You are in the Light I wanna shine like the stars in the Heavens Oh, Lord be my light and be my Salvation 'cause all I want is to be in the Light All I want to be is in the Light (3x)
[There's no other place I want to be] [No other place that I can see] [A place to be that's just right] [Someday I'm gonna be in the Light] [You are in the Light] [That's where I need to be] [That's right where I need to be]
Last June I was shopping for a sturdy backpack for a trip I was taking later in the summer and stumbled across a lovely black-and-aqua-not-to-big-and-not-too-small backpack that was made by the Livity company which is centered on making quality merchandise that is responsibly created and constructed to last.
Here is a excerpt from the home page of their website.
LiViTY is a positive, healthy lifestyle. Our products and message reflect our core values of sustainability and unity. All of our apparel and accessories are designed using organic, renewable and recycled materials and are produced in equitable trade. Livity’s 2010 collection is an expression of our commitment to conscious living and creativity.
I did not purchase the back pack when I found it because it went beyond the $40.00 mark at my local Wegman's Nature's Marketplace. We were supposed to receive a bag at the event I was attending, so I tabled the idea of buying the new one.
A few months later, I found the bag I'd been looking at again while grocery shopping. The bag I'd received on my trip was already worn out, so I was looking for a replacement, but I decided to wait one more time to see if the bag I liked so well would go on sale.
Every now and then I'd scope out the back packs and see if they were on sale and no they were not. I scoped out the online options, and they were no cheaper. So when my birthday rolled around this January and my husband asked me what I'd like - I blurted -"The Livity back pack I've been coveting since June!
So, you can imagine how happy a birthday girl I was, when that is exactly what I received. The bag is tough, but has some really attractive designs on it. It's not too frilly, but colorful and I fits all the things I carry on a daily basis with no trouble. That is, until yesterday.
As I headed home last evening, I picked up my bag and saw that the bottom of the strap was no longer fully attached to the bottom of the bag. It was beginning to unravel, so I stopped at Wegmans today to exchange it, but sadly all their back packs made by Livity were gone.
I talked with the NM Manager and she took my information and will be contacting Livity to see if I can exchange my current bag for a new one. I hope that they will receive the request for the exchange for a replacement knowing how I really do want the bag - it's just that I don't think the strap should come unstitched within a month of purchasing it. Maybe I'll have to pull out the old sewing kit to mend this one.
All in all Livity is a clever and cool new merchandise company that produces some amazing products - now let's see what the customer service is like.
"Agnostics, atheists, deists, seekers, the disillusioned, the contented, the hedonists - lots of names for different stopping places on the spiritual pilgrimage. The point is that different people are at different places in their spiritual pilgrimage. Our conversation needs to focus on the particular issues that engage each person when it comes to God. So in this session we will explore that shape of spiritual pilgrimage." (Page 28 Holy Conversations)
According to the text in Holy Conversations, we all are on a spiritual pilgrimage. Now that you've thought about your own journey a bit, think about where you are and give a name (your best guess) to where you think you might be in your spiritual pilgrimage.
What was your pilgrimage to God like? Consider the phases you went through in your pilgrimage of faith. What helped you move toward God? When you think of all the stages of your own transformation, what does that do to your perspective on other people's pilgrimage?
Lets begin our discussion on this idea of pilgrimage for the week of 2/10 - 2/18/10. Thank you for your participation. (If you are using the book, we shuffled our starting point a little. Technically, last week we talked about Chapter 2's questions and this week we are in Chapter 1. After this week, we should follow that chapter order as it is in the book. Sorry for any confusion.)
Thankfully, my childhood experience and introduction to God is filled with memories of sitting close to my Dad, holding his hand during prayer, listening to music and the messages, and feeling wrapped in safety as light shone through the stained glass windows of the sanctuary. I recall the pastor preaching a series on committing our lives to the practice of loving others the way Jesus did. Each week, when he would ask if anyone in the congregation would like to recommit their hearts to Christ and his way of life my heart would thump loud in my ears and tears would come to my eyes. It was if a magnet would pull my hand high above my head. I'd look up to see if he'd seen my hand and refuse to put it down till he smiled and nodded in my direction. "I see that hand.", he'd say in a kind and comforting way.
After a few weeks of this, Pastor C. stopped to chat with my Mom and Dad and I one week. He said, "I noticed that each week you keep raising your hand. Is there something worrying you concerning your love for God?"
I replied with wide eyes, "Pastor, I can't help but raise my hand. I want to God to know I love him and want to love him more!" The Pastor said."God knows you love him Tara, he sees into your heart and can see it quite clearly."
I wonder today about that pull I felt to let God know I loved him back. When I was a child it seemed so simple to be aware of God's love and care for me. I'd see God's care in the sky as I swung on my swing set singing Zip-e-dee-do-dah, I'd feel the Holy Spirit's touch in the warm breeze or the warmth that would wash over me when I took communion. My magnet for God was so sensitive as a child. As time passes, it seems that frustration with a system, or discouragement can dull the built-in sense of the divine that was so acute in childhood.
Even now when I regain that awareness of God's presence, it's when I abandon my cares and worry and allow the Holy Spirit to wash over me. It's like a re-baptism really. Laying down one way of life and being raised to live a brand new one with all my awareness of God turned up high.
I sense God's presence in the times that I make room for the space of movement, the connection of positive energy in relationship with others, in worship, in play and even in singing a verse of zip-a-dee-do-dah! Oh what a beautiful day! Thank you God for loving me, and knowing that in my heart I love you too.
This essay is part of a group discussion that takes place at First Lutheran Church of Jamestown, NY. We also carry on an online discussion on Facebook at the Holy Conversations group page. Feel free to join our group Wed. Feb. 10th at noon or anytime at the online group location. To order your copy of Holy Conversations, click here.
You may have seen this quirky film a few years ago, or maybe not, but I think everyone can relate to the scene where Napoleon is stuck in school with no chap-stick and is calling home to see if his brother can drop it off for him. Chapped lips are horrible nuisance. No, they are not life-threatening - but annoying, distracting and painful.
Have you ever misplaced your lip balm when you need it the most? It's an impossible thing for me, especially this time of year, to be without a tube of lip balm in my pocket. I have a couple favorite brands of lip balm: Burt's Bee's Peppermint and Thistle Farm's Tuscan Earth. The first is soothing because of the Peppermint and the second has a sort of sweet herbal fragrance and heals chapped lips amazingly fast. Once I applied the Thistle Farms Balm while in a waiting room, and a six-year-old boy walked in, sat down next to me and happily exclaimed, "What is that yummy smell?"
There were a few days this last week, that I forgot to apply my lip balm before heading outside into the February cold, and after those few days I was becoming painfully aware of my swollen and rough bottom lip. I'd lost one of my Burt's Bees lip balms to my dog, who has a strange attraction to peppermint and had literally eaten it. It appears my dog has a favorite lip balm too!
When I relocated another tube of that soothing salve, I was relived because my lips were immediately cooled. I had to be diligent in re-applying the balm, as my whole body seemed to be thirsty for the moisture. Eventually, the burn stopped the mint calmed and the thistle healed what was so painfully sore.
There is a song I learned years ago in high school chorus that has stayed in my mind and I often find myself singing when things in life are leaving me feeling sort of "chapped". There are many times in life that "I feel discouraged, and think my work’s in vain," but I need to be reminded that, " then the Holy Spirit, revives my hope again."
So as we share this weeks bread, think of it from the perspective of lip balm. What are the things that caused you to feel "chapped" this week? What are the lip balm - Gilad - moments that cooled, refreshed and healed?"
I'm thankful to G-d for the balm that is poured into our lives. I'm thankful to you for sharing your life and bread here at this blog. May you never have chapped lips, "That hurt real bad", but if you do - I pray that your lip balm is just a pocket or a prayer away.
Here are the complete lyrics to the two versions of There is a balm in Gilead s found on wikipedia:
There is a balm in Gilead To make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead To heal the sin-sick soul.
Some times I feel discouraged, And think my work’s in vain, But then the Holy Spirit Revives my soul again.
(Chorus)
If you can’t preach like Peter, If you can’t pray like Paul, Just tell the love of Jesus, And say He died for all.
[edit] Alternate Lyrics
There is a balm in Gilead, To make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead, To heal the sin-sick soul.
Some times I feel discouraged, And think my work’s in vain, But then the Holy Spirit Revives my hope again.
(Chorus)
If you cannot sing like angels, If you can’t preach like Paul, You can tell the love of Jesus, And say He died for all.
Today was the retirement reception for Pastor Billy at First Lutheran of Jamestown, NY. Pictured with him here is Nigel (my son) and Tony and Abby who are all a part of the youth at our church. I know that the students will miss Pastor Billy, I know I will as well. Thank you P. Billy for always reminding us to... "Love justice, seek mercy and walk humbly with God, this is what the Lord asks of you." Micah 6:8
