lauren laughs

i read henri nouwen’s “life of the beloved” again recently. i could say a lot on this, but for now i just want to highlight two passages.

the foundation for nouwen’s premise is found in matthew 3:16-17, mark 1:10-11 and luke 3:21-22: “you are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you.” i absolutely love to think about the fact that i am God’s beloved. it’s similar to contemplating the fact that i’m created in God’s image. i think i big part of that “image” is the desire to be in communion with each other, as i’ve mentioned before. i think God desires that we communicate with Him and each other in love. God communicates to me that i’m His beloved. at any point in time that i doubt myself, this is one unshakeable truth.

part of realizing one’s own belovedness translates into a desire to share that with other people. nouwen writes to his friend, “the greatest gift my friendship can give to you is the gift of your Belovedness. i can give that gift only insofar as i have claimed it for myself.” this rings so true for me. when i think about the people i love, of all the things i want to communicate to those people, their own belovedness is supreme. i’m often known to say, “i just want to love on people,” or, “i just want to make people feel special…” i realize i risk sounding like the ultimate cheese ball, but it’s so exciting to claim God’s love for myself… how could i not share it with others? especially with those i love?

benin west africa is a small country (42,710 sq miles) on the coast next to togo. it has a population of 7,400,000 people who speak french (officially), fon, yoruba and other languages. religions practiced include animism and voodoo (50%), christianity (30%) and islam (20%). check out this house… it’s like a castle hut. sign me up.

every once in a while, i get to assist with communion. i think this is one of the coolest things i can do at church. it’s such an active and tangible way of blessing people, many whom i don’t even know. last night was one of those nights, and it was especially cool because people were wearing name tags so i could say, “this is the blood of Christ shed for you, cathy.” so personal. here is some of the liturgy used in communion…

“in the night in which He was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread and gave thanks; broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying: take and eat; this is my body, given for you. do this for the remembrance of Me. again, after supper, He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: this cup is the new covenant in My blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. do this for the remembrance of Me. as we recall the one, perfect sacrifice for our redemption, Father, by your Holy Spirit, lead us to accept these gifts of your creation, that we as the body of Christ, may be united in love and charity.”

and then, all these people with different lives and who knows what going on in their heads and hearts come forward to receive communion. to take the bread and drink the wine, to hear the words, “this is the body of Christ, broken for you… the blood of Christ, shed for you.” it really is a unifying moment. not just in that small chapel, but everywhere people remember Christ in this way. the communion we take reminds us not only of our communion with one another, but most importantly our communion with God.

after receiving the communion, the pastor blesses the people saying, “the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in His grace. amen.” for me, this is a very real reminder that God is in me and God’s light shines through me. so, yeah. i think communion is cool.

it’s a little belated… but i didn’t blog on labor day, and yesterday i was clearly preoccupied. i did sing on monday, though. this def deserves a posting since my littlest bro is now 20… holy crap!

happy birthday little bro!
happy birthday hermanito!
happy birthday mr. pierce!!!!
happy birthday toooo yooouuuu!!!!

i’m reading in ezra about the rebuilding of the temple in jerusalem, and i’m struck by one verse that says, “no one could distinguish the sound of shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise.” this is because while some rejoiced in the building of a new temple, others wept over the loss of that which came before. my footnote remarks that a babylonian cornerstone reads: “i started the work weeping, i finished it rejoicing.” how applicable is that cornerstone to so many foundations in our lives. much of our work begins in tears and struggle, yet God completes work in us that both glorifies Him and causes us to rejoice. a rough start is not a bad thing. the end result and the journey therein bless the struggle that came before.

it’s been about two weeks, but i didn’t post the news because i was waiting on a pic to show you the latest object of my affection. meet lucinda. (that would be the guitar… the guy hiding behind the guitar would be adam… you can’t hide from the blog, dude.)

i shopped for a guitar earlier this summer, but nothing clicked. after returning from karachi, the need for my own instrument grew ever pressing. i was a woman on a mission. mike came along for moral support, which i really needed. we walked in and spotted a few options, though i was too intimidated to play while some old guy rocked out on slide guitar close by. i was off to a rough start. then a sales clerk walked up and offered to play for me so i could listen for the tone i was looking for. i explained that i wanted a small body guitar, but not so small that it sounded brassy. he was very helpful and found several that i was okay with. then, he handed me lucinda. she was beautiful. she fit in my arms perfectly. her deep tone went straight to my heart. reluctantly, i looked at the price. totally in my range… on the lower end of my range, even. that’s when i took a closer look and found she looked pretty worn on the back and neck. just love marks. nothing that would jeopardize the musicality of the instrument. i asked the handy sales clerk if he could throw in a case? yes. strap? yes. chord? yes. picks? yes. can i choose my own color of picks? yes. can mike have one too? yes. can i have a moment alone? okay. we called erin and brian for back-up, who checked online to confirm this was indeed a good deal. fully confident, i handed the sales clerk my card and brought lucinda home. no buyer’s remorse. just true love. one step closer to being on stage… kidding. or not.

i left my camera at home, so you’ll have to wait for weekend pics and updates. but i’m sitting at work and just watched this huge cicada get caught in a spider web. it’s amazing how something 5 times the size of a spider can get stuck in something thinner than hair. ooh ooh! the spider just tried to jump onto the bug! it’s like discovery channel live.

one of the lessons in church today reminded me of summer days at camp… paul tells the ephesians to put on the whole armor of God so they may stand firm against evil:

“stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. as shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. with all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” ephesians 6:14-17.

we can be deliberate and intentional about putting on the armor of God with the same visual aids i used with young campers. everyday we have an opportunity to meditate on these words as we get dressed and ready ourselves for what lies ahead. it may sound silly, but it’s worth a shot. when putting on your belt (or pants or skirt, etc) remember to arm yourself with truth. while buttoning your shirt, meditate on what it means to have a breastplate of righteousness. as you tie your laces (or in my case, slip on your flip-flops), consider what it means to be ready to proclaim the gospel. a shield of faith may be a bit tough to envision, but very important. i think of my face as my shield as i put on sunscreen, which is also important, kinda. as you comb your hair, think about what it means to wear a helmet of salvation. for me, the rings i wear symbolize the sword of the Spirit. my two rings remind me of different verses i repeat daily since the sword is the word of God.

note too that most of these items are used for protection from evil, but the word of God is a weapon against evil. we can guard ourselves with truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation, but to fight evil we must carry the sword of the Spirit. we need the word of God written on our hearts and minds, thus we meditate on the scriptures. reading God’s word regularly keeps our weapons sharp and our swords ready.

it is with this armor that paul encourages us to be bold.