Uphill idealist

Last night, some friends and I who are part of a praise team called ' Sacred Fire', held a coffeehouse concert at our church. We had a great time getting ready for the performance and playing last night. I was graciously given space in the set to play two songs that I've written.... See breathe Find more artists like Tara Lamont Music at Myspace Music and You turned on the light Find more artists like Tara Lamont Music at Myspace Music (Please take a listen to the tunes embedded here and let me know which one you like best!) It is a joy to share music with people and see and hear the effects of it. Last night's crowd was very kind and receptive to everything that was presented and the variety of our set list was broad: "I will rise" by Tomlin to "You look wonderful tonight" by Clapton. If you were to sing a song for a coffeehouse - what song would you choose to play and why?

For all of you following the progress of the "dots" banner, the trim and ties were completed and one is up in the contemporary worship space and the other will be hung up in the Nave after a wedding on Saturday. Each banner is a work in progress as each week people will be invited to respond to the question, "How have you been made aware/seen/understood God's presence this week?" or in simpler terms - "Where did you see God?". These banners will be continually added to for this Sunday school year, but this project is not limited to the youth. Its my hope that all attendees and visitors will feel welcome to add to this visual display of God's love and grace.

Image from Helex blog . "It seems the swinging of life races between two extremes of beginning and end, birth and death, and light and dark. It's raining tonight, the dog snores and the fridge hums; and the swinging is happening now. The pendulum is racing down rain covered brick streets, past just yellow almost red stop lights. Brakes squeal, horns blast and the safe space wins at this light. But what will happen at the next intersection? We could take up running up hills in rain storms to feel alive. Our hearts would pound, our breaths would have to be deep and our rain drenched legs would tremble to reach the top - to sprint with arms flailing on the downhill slope that is just over the crest. I can't answer if it's the beginning or if its the end. But I can put on my sneakers, press the remote to start the car, and open my umbrella and hold it upside down. I will swing it side to side like this pendulum of life, and catch each raindrop that falls from this unpredi...

"Where some see weeds, some find beauty." (Me) Where do you find beauty, that is missed by others? Where do you miss beauty, and others find it? What do the commonalities and differences say about us as individuals and as groups of people? Here are some quotes to help you ponder these ideas more from, the 'Quote garden'. Which one is your favorite? : A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows. ~Doug Larson A weed is but an unloved flower. ~Ella Wheeler Wilcox But a weed is simply a plant that wants to grow where people want something else. In blaming nature, people mistake the culprit. Weeds are people's idea, not nature's. ~Author Unknown Weeds are nature's graffiti. ~Janice Maeditere (I like this one!)

Sunday school banner for 2011-12 school year at First Lutheran Church of Jamestown . “God has a way of working dot-to-dot of our lives. For the last almost two years, I’ve been searching for a continuing education program specific to the ministry situation here at First Lutheran Church. I knew it had to be something I could do from Jamestown, it had to require a minimal amount of travel, it needed to engage my heart and mind and it had to apply to and assist me in the work I do on a daily basis. In February, my husband came across a book called, “The God bearing life.” by: Kenda Creasy Dean. In this book he learned about a Certificate program specific to current trends in youth and family ministry that fit all the requirements I’d hoped to find…” Click here to read the original post. Over a year ago now, I gave a version of this essay as a talk at the 9am Sunday service. I’m sharing it with you, because the idea of God connecting our dots is one that has carried throughout the time ...

Photo of me loving a huge tree on the coast of Lake Chautauqua on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution. Lessons from an old tree "Encased in marble, the letters were old. The spelling was odd, but not to far off to be told. The "U's" were exchanged for the letter "v" - the reason for this is far past what I can see. Discomfort, confusion, frustration and fear are fellows that hang around letters hard to hear. Their message is odd and hard to grasp; like something that made sense in years that have passed. Moving down a path where the shade is just right, the breeze is blowing and still-green leaves dance in sunlight. A fountain flows freely in the midst of this place, with Lilly pads floating in a pool of water with incredible grace. At the end of the path there was an enormous old tree, with branches reaching high even with all the age we could see. It stood proudly there in this place it had grown, half-facing the water and half-facing the stone. This ...

Image found at Classic Mary Moments. God is holy, loving, creative and generous. If you had to choose one word to describe God, do you think you could do it? When I asked the children at my church this week the same question, they all agreed that one word is not enough to describe God. God is wonderfully complex! I told them about the word from Old Testament times that people would use to try to capture the essence of God, Yahweh. Most folks agree that this word is a combination of letters that attempted to represent God and might have meant "I am" or "To be". The word Yahweh is really amazing, but event this one can't capture all the details of God. One word simply isn't enough to describe the greatness of God. This week's gospel lesson was from Matthew 20:1-16. Jesus tells a parable about God's generosity, challenging the common assumption that God rewards people according to what they have earned or deserve. (If you want to read the lesson, I'...