Anita Lustrea

This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here. You can friend Mike on Facebook for the printed version or read it below

Rumblings. 12.9.22 

1. “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions …faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” ~ James, NLT

Faith in Action is the theme for today’s Rumblings. 

2. “The gospel is less about how to get into the Kingdom of Heaven after you die and more about how to live in the Kingdom of Heaven before you die.” ~ Dallas Willard

I’m not sure everyone believes this. In fact, I know they don’t. 

Becoming too heavenly minded sometimes can get in the way of actually living out our faith   redemptively and creatively in the here and now 

3. “… I realize that far too many religious leaders are asking the wrong question. The future of Christianity matters little if there are no human beings, whether we extinct ourselves through war or environmental disaster. We can fix our denominations, bring new members to church, write the best theologies ever—and none of it will matter one whit if we are all dead. The question—“What is the future of Christianity?”—must be held in relation to other questions. Right now, the most significant of those questions is: “What is the future of humankind?”

That is the existential question of our time. All other questions pale by comparison and distract us from hearing the voices of God, the earth, and other creatures with the kind of rigor and compassion necessary for the living of these particular days. To me, the question about the future of Christianity has become: “What must Christians do to serve all creation when the island itself is in danger of sinking?” ~ Diana Butler Bass

I think we often  forget the stewardship role God asks us to play in this world.  Our vision for our life can become far  too small. We can find ourselves piddling around in things that really don’t matter all that much. Creation care is not inconsequential. It’s not liberal propaganda. Rather, it is of divine importance because it matters to God. It behooves us not to neglect it. Quite simply it would be sinful to do so. 

4. Anti-semitism and racial bigotry have been in the spotlight recently. To stand firmly and unequivocally against such things is a very, consequential action.  If we don’t stand firmly and against what is obviously sinful can we really say we belong to God? If we continue to support, even silently, those who have shown they’re OK with racial bigotry and anti-semitism we become partners with the haters. We have become the problem. 

5. “One doesn’t have to operate with great malice to do great harm. The absence of empathy and understanding are sufficient. In fact, a man convinced of his virtue even in the midst of his vice is the worst kind of man. There is no wrong time to do the right thing.” ~ Charles Blow, Op Ed columnist for the NY Times

“ . . .a man convinced of his virtue even in the midst of his vice is the worst kind of man.” We’ve had to live with this kind of man for a while now haven’t we? It’s been kind of a ‘sucky’ time. And he’s given a platform to other suspect characters who believe doing the wrong thing is commendable. It’s not. 

6. I’m thinking our country might need our own version of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The ongoing divides in our country and the hurts that they have given birth to have caused deep pain to individuals and to the collective. In order to heal, wrongs need to be righted, the truth must be told, and forgiveness must be asked for and received. 

Righting wrongs requires a deep desire to make it happen. Do we have that desire? Do we even desire to long for it?

Truth isn’t really all that elusive even though we pretend it is. I have a hunch the bright shiny lights of deceit keep us from even looking for truth. That’s a disservice to ourselves and others. 

It’s hard to ask for forgiveness if you think everyone else is wrong. And if you think forgiveness is for sissies everything gets derailed. 

7. Our life is not our own; yet, at some level, enlightened people know that their life has been given to them as a sacred trust. They live in gratitude and confidence, and they try to let the flow continue through them. ~ Richard Rohr

The meme from St. Alban’s Episcopal Church suggests, “We are all innkeepers who decide if there is room for Jesus.” 

There’s always a decision to be made. Sometimes, those decisions are very hard. They cost us something. Making choices that are hard and costly shape us in ways that the easy choices  can’t. 

8. I could live in a way that bothered no one’s sensibilities. I could choose never to bother to challenge someone else’s point of view and utter nothing  that bordered on controversial. But what kind of life would that be for me? Perhaps less stressful but I’d know I’d be out of step with the ‘me’ God created.

I fully recognize that there are people who do choose a quieter way of service to their God. In their own way, I’ve discovered, they too are controversial. Their type of witness is not always appreciated.

There’s no one right way to carry out God’s call on our lives. Each way, I’ve found, brings great joy and its own sorrow. 

“To thine own self be true” the playwright counsels. “Just do it” the shoe company advises. And the scripture reminds us that we are being cheered on by a great “cloud of witnesses.” 

Live large, put your faith to work with love and compassion, and remember – you’re never alone.

9. “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ~ Soren Kierkegaard.

Each harms us and others. Where have you been fooled? Are you ashamed to admit it?  Are you ever afraid to go against the flow of your crowd and admit that the version of ‘group think’ you’re involved with is crazy? If not, how will you find peace?

10. “Friends, in today’s Gospel (Matthew 18), Jesus asks: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?” Well, of course not! No self-respecting shepherd would ever think of doing that. If you were a shepherd, you’d cut your losses. That sheep is probably dead anyway if it wandered far enough away.

But we are to understand that God is like that foolish shepherd. God’s love throws caution to the wind to seek out the lost sheep. We might expect God to be good to those who are good and kind to those who follow his commandments. Those who don’t, who wander away, are simply lost … No, God is like this kooky shepherd. God loves irrationally, exuberantly risking it all in order to find the one who wandered away. What good news: God does not love according to a strict justice on our terms, but loves in his own extravagant way.” ~ Bishop Robert Barron

May we all learn to love in extravagant ways. May we all  become that “kooky shepherd”. Let’s be on the lookout for the wanderer. Let’s learn to err on the side of grace, welcoming any and all to our table.

The post Mike’s Rumblings – 12-09-22 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is a weekly release of the spiritual practice Lectio Divina. I hope you’ll listen and ponder the scripture passage offered and let me know your thoughts. My email address is [email protected]. Also, feel free to share this podcast on your social media or tell a friend about it. 

If you’d like to support this podcast you can do so through a gift to PayPal using the email address [email protected].

If you enjoy the beautiful guitar music, you can learn more about Steve Wick and how to purchase his music on his website.

The post Lectio Divina 29 – Luke 1:13-15a, 18-20 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

Sherrill Knezel is a fascinating and gifted person. She is a graphic recorder, an illustrator and an art educator in Wauwatosa, Wisc. Parker Palmer is an author, educator and activist and one of his most well known books is Let Your Life Speak. It is over 20 years old and Sherrill Knezel is giving us a brand new way of accessing this timeless book through a book of her own titled, Heart Speak: A Visual Interpretation of Let Your Life Speak. She takes us on a journey alongside Parker Palmer’s classic with amazing illustrations and her thoughtful writing to go with it. I’ve been using it as a daily practice of writing and responding to Sherrill’s questions meant for pondering and journaling. I hope you’ll take a listen to this weeks conversation.

Find Sherrill in the following places:

• Website

Note: When clicking through on links to products on Amazon, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Sherrill Knezel – episode 344 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here. You can friend Mike on Facebook for the printed version or read it below

Rumblings. 12.2.22 

1. “In retrospect Sandy Hook marked the end of the US gun control debate …once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over.” ~ Dan Hodges, British Journalist. NY Times

“Across the country, openly carrying a gun in public is no longer just an exercise in self-defense — increasingly it is a soapbox for elevating one’s voice and, just as often, quieting someone else’s…to intimidate opponents and shut down debate” ~ Mike McIntire, NY Times

All this is horrifyingly true. It’s quite clear the collective, moral will needed to fix the problem of gun violence doesn’t exist. That’s probably because we’re too busy saying ‘whatever’. 

2. “For centuries, Christianity has presented itself as an “organized religion”—a change-averse institution . . . that protects and promotes a timeless system of beliefs that were handed down fully formed in the past. Yet Christianity’s actual history is a story of change and adaptation. We Christians have repeatedly adapted our message, methods, and mission to the contours of our time. What might happen if we understand the core Christian ethos as creative, constructive, and forward-leaning—as an “organizing religion” that challenges all institutions (including its own) to learn, grow, and mature toward a deepening, enduring vision of reconciliation with God, self, neighbor, enemy, and creation?” ~ Brian McLaren

Organizing religion vs organized religion. Discuss.

3. “Teaching children about the existence and inherent worth of LGBTQ people isn’t grooming them, teaching them to blindly hate LGBTQ people is.” ~ Jon Pavlovitz 

In Florida where I live ‘grooming’ is a word that our Governor just loves to use. I’m beginning to realize that it is code for sic ‘em. 

4. I have to be honest about something. You know the whole ‘crypto currency’ thing? There’s nothing about it that I find understandable. 

5. “Why Pray?  Why should I spend an hour in prayer when I do nothing during that time but think about people I am angry with, people who are angry with me, books I should read, and books I should write, and thousands of other silly things that happen to grab my mind for a moment?

The answer is: because God is greater than my mind and my heart and what is really happening in the house of prayer is not measurable in terms of human success and failure.

What I must do first of all is to be faithful. If I believe that the first commandment is to love God with my whole heart, mind, and soul, then I should at least be able to spend one hour a day with nobody else but God. The question as to whether it is helpful, useful, practical, or fruitful is completely irrelevant, since the only reason to love is love itself. Everything else is secondary.

The remarkable thing, however, is that sitting in the presence of God …day after day, week after week, month after month …radically changes my life. God, who loves me so much that he sent his only son not to condemn me but to save me, does not leave me waiting in the dark too long… I gradually realize that … a very small, gentle voice has been speaking to me far beyond my noisy place.” ~ Henri Nouwen

Love this “A very small, gentle voice has been speaking to me.”

We’re never alone. 

“God comes to us like the sun in the morning—when it is time.” ~ Carlo Carretto, The God Who Comes

6. “The words “gratitude” and “grace” come from the same root word, gratia in Latin. . . . “Grace” is a theological word, one with profound spiritual meaning. Grace means “unmerited favor.” When I think of grace, I particularly like the image of God tossing gifts around—a sort of indiscriminate giver of sustenance, joy, love, and pleasure. Grace—gifts given without being earned and with no expectation of return—is, as the old hymn says, amazing. Because you can neither earn nor pay back the gift, your heart fills with gratitude. And the power of that emotion transforms the way you see the world and experience life. Grace begets gratitude, which, in turn, widens our hearts toward greater goodness and love.” ~ Diana Butler Bass

7. “Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the airplane, the pessimist the parachute.” ~  George Bernard Shaw

I’m well aware of my cautious tendencies and the streak of pessimism that can sometimes mess with me. My wife, an optimist, counsels me not to linger too long with pessimism nor to use caution as an excuse to procrastinate.  She says that they have rarely served me well. She’s not wrong. 

8. That space between stimulus and response – that’s where the action is. It’s where you can gather yourself,  take a deep breath, say a prayer, and calculate a proper response. Sometimes, all we have is a few seconds. Some days, we have hours. But that space is available to us. Using it wisely might diminish the likelihood of doing or saying something stupid. 

9. “Angertainment.” Don’t know who coined the word but it’s a good one. The House GOP has already signaled that we should buckle up ‘cuz angertainment is what they’re bringing to the table in January. Can’t blame them really. It’s all they’ve got. And if their media buddies at FOX decide to go along for the ride (why wouldn’t they) we’re in for a sneak peek at what play time in hell is like. Lucky us.

10. “There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.” ~ Will Rogers

Curiosity is both cultivated and curtailed in a variety of interesting ways, huh?

The post Mike’s Rumblings – 12-02-22 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is a weekly release of the spiritual practice Lectio Divina. I hope you’ll listen and ponder the scripture passage offered and let me know your thoughts. My email address is [email protected]. Also, feel free to share this podcast on your social media or tell a friend about it. 

If you’d like to support this podcast you can do so through a gift to PayPal using the email address [email protected].

If you enjoy the beautiful guitar music, you can learn more about Steve Wick and how to purchase his music on his website.

The post Lectio Divina 28 – Matthew 1:18-23 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here. You can friend Mike on Facebook for the printed version or read it below

Rumblings. 11.25.22 

1. My guess is that pretty much no one you know and respect has said that the #1 priority of the House of Representatives is to thoroughly investigate and punish Hunter Biden. 

2. “You can also commit injustice by doing nothing.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

Not rocking the boat can be a good thing – except when it’s not.

Doing nothing often gives permission to those who practice injustice to keep doing what they’re doing. 

3. Elon Musk has proven once again that a man is not necessarily wise just because he has great wealth. 

4. “Civility does not preclude tough-mindedness. Nor should it be mistaken for a lack of principles or perspective. Supposedly conservative Christians have broadly chosen the company of Trump supporters who deny any role for character in politics and define any useful villainy as virtue. In the place of integrity, the Trump movement has elevated a warped kind of authenticity — the authenticity of unfiltered abuse, imperious ignorance, untamed egotism and reflexive bigotry. This is inconsistent with Christianity by any orthodox measure.” ~ Michael Gerson RIP

Gerson was a thoughtful man of faith. He was a card carrying evangelical who believed that too many conservative Christians were selling their soul to a man who believed only in himself and a political movement that consistently betrayed Jesus and his teachings. 

When I grow up I want to be like Gerson, who lived in an authentically prophetic manner and was not stifled by critics who wanted him to abandon his convictions.  

5. “Jesus was not killed by atheism and anarchy. He was brought down by law and order allied with religion – which is always a deadly mix. Beware those who claim to know the mind of God and are prepared to use force, if necessary, to make others conform. Beware those who cannot tell God’s will – from their own.” ~ Barbara Brown Taylor

I must admit that being in the presence of law and order religious types is very uncomfortable for me. I’m confused about the bible they read and the god they serve.

6. During her remarks announcing her decision to step down as Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi said she enjoyed working with three presidents, referencing accomplishments from the Bush, Obama and Biden eras. Left unsaid, of course, was the fact that Pelosi served as speaker under four presidents, not three.

7. “The obviously well-kept secret of the ‘ordinary’ is that it is made to be a receptacle of the divine, a place where the life of God flows.” Dallas Willard

We ask “Where’s God?” Look towards the ordinary things. Hear them speak in extraordinary ways.

8. “Jesus lived among the rejected. He ministered among the rejected. He died and was crucified as rejected, as somebody who was outside the political power structure. But early Sunday morning, from the grave he led a resurrection movement—a revival of love, a revival of justice, a revival of mercy, a revival of grace.” ~ William Barber

“Jesus began a movement, fueled by the Spirit, a movement whose purpose was and is to change the face of the earth from the nightmare it often is into the dream that God intends.” ~ Michael Curry

A Spirit infused life will lead us to live among the rejected, to be part of a resurrection movement, to yearn for a revival of love, justice, mercy and grace, and stir us to help change the face of the earth from a nightmare and into God’s dream. 

In what ways does this resemble your view of following Jesus? Or doesn’t it?

9. Not the first time I posted this. Won’t be the last. Always grabs me.  

“I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of God to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please.” ~ Wilbur Rees

10. This week I lingered a bit on the story of the thief on the cross who implored Jesus to remember him.

During my lingering, I said to Jesus: “I am so unworthy.” His response: “I will lift you up.”

The post Mike’s Rumblings – 11-25-22 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is a weekly release of the spiritual practice Lectio Divina. I hope you’ll listen and ponder the scripture passage offered and let me know your thoughts. My email address is [email protected]. Also, feel free to share this podcast on your social media or tell a friend about it. 

If you’d like to support this podcast you can do so through a gift to PayPal using the email address [email protected].

If you enjoy the beautiful guitar music, you can learn more about Steve Wick and how to purchase his music on his website.

The post Lectio Divina 27 – John 10:22-30 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

Lore Ferguson Wilbert is an author and has written for Christianity Today, Fathom magazine and She Reads Truth. Her book A Curious Faith is the subject of our conversation on this week’s podcast. The subtitle really drew me in: The Questions God Asks, We Ask, and We Wish Someone Would Ask Us. Lore says God created us to be curious. To wonder about the world, one another, ourselves, and our Creator. She invites us to embrace curiosity, rather than certainty, as a hallmark of authentic faith. It’s a thought-provoking conversation.

Find Lore in the following places:

• Website

Note: When clicking through on links to products on Amazon, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Lore Ferguson Wilbert – episode 343 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here. You can friend Mike on Facebook for the printed version or read it below

Rumblings 11.18.22  

1. “Here’s my vote for the values that Americans endorsed in the 2022 elections: reasonableness, democracy, governing, progress and freedom. Here’s what they voted against: extremism, Trumpism, culture wars and intolerance… every gushing story about DeSantis should be balanced by pieces about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.” ~ E.J. Dionne, WAPO

I agree. I’m ready to move on to new faces and fresh ideas. Whitmer and Shapiro are the real deal. There’s a ‘value added’ vitality and groundedness to what they say and do. 

As for DeSantis, what can I say? I’m not a fan. His ego is supersized and his penchant for going for the jugular on hot button cultural issues, demonizing any and all who stand in his way makes him a dangerous man. Ruth Ben-Ghiat writing in MSNBC Daily quotes an anonymous Florida legislator who said this of the Governor “If you cross him once, you’re dead.” 

We just got done playing this putrid game. Let’s move on. 

2. “A seminarian saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. He said, “Don’t do it!” 

The man on the bridge replied, “Nobody loves me.”

The Seminarian said, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?” The distraught man said, “Yes.” 

The Seminarian then said, “Are you a Christian?”  The man said, “A Christian.” 

The seminarian said, “Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?”  The man said, “Protestant.” 

The Seminarian said, “Me, too! What denomination?”  The man said, “Baptist.” The seminarian said, “Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?” The man said, “Northern Baptist.” The Seminarian said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?” The man said, “Northern Conservative Baptist.” 

The Seminarian said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?” The man said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.” 

The Seminarian said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?” 

The man said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.” 

The Seminarian screamed, “Die, you heretic!” And then pushed him over the railing.” 

There’s a lesson in this. Many actually. See #7.

3. I’m riffing off of something shared by a member of my interracial book club. “I am a privileged white man. To use my white privilege in ways that expose injustices in our world and maximizes opportunities for others is not a bad way to live with a privilege I did not earn.” 

4. “If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.” ~ Oscar Wilde

Long live laughter. Long live the laugh makers. Long live the satirists. They are truth tellers, using humor with a bite to it and stories with a punch to reveal truth. 

Straight to the point truth tellers are also needed but often they are so pointed and angry that their truth causes a lot of damage.

5. FOX News has turned quickly and definitively against Trump. Wow. That was quick. It’s just not FOX. Conservative outlets of all types are running as fast as they can towards anyone but the former president. 

It’s really kind of funny to watch what’s happening especially if you can see the humor in opportunism fueled by a lack of integrity. And it’s all being done without confession.  After all, these particular media folks deliberately scammed people, hurt them and led them astray. They should fall on their knees begging for forgiveness. Ha. That will happen right after pigs fly. 

6. “Outgoing Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.) told The Washington Post he knew the evening of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that the GOP would have a difficult time proving to voters they should be in the majority in two years.

“By midnight on January 6, it was obvious that if we continued to sleepwalk down the path of crazy we’d face a rude awakening,” he said. “Instead of facing those facts, the GOP spent the last two years heading in the same direction and actively avoiding any internal reckoning. After Tuesday, we have no choice but to heed voters when they say that ‘the grass is green, the sky is blue, and by the way, you just got your ass handed to you.’ But waking up to that reality is going to be rough.” ~ WAPO

Most centrist conservatives have been rendered mute by MAGA Republicans and have been scared into submission. May they remember what Amelia Earhart once said. “Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.The soul that knows it not, knows no release, from little things … ” May they find the courage to set themselves free.

7. “I am convinced that the biblical tradition is saying that the only absolute available to us is the faithful love of God, and not any concept or structure. God’s love itself is the center and the still point of the turning world.” ~ Richard Rohr

As Rumble 2 points out, we keep trying to make minor things the main thing. And then we try to find others who share our narrow point of view and are willing to look with disdain upon those who believe differently. Let’s start  instead with Rohr’s perspective that the ‘faithful love of God’ is the main thing. If we get that right and choose to apply it where and when  necessary – everything else begins to fall into place.

8. In the aftermath of the violent events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, several federal legislators reminded us that we have “a republic,” but only if we can keep it.” 

We’re not out of the woods yet. Anne LaMott reminds us:  “What the American people have done is to severely injure the dragon, but he is going to smash up a lot more with that huge tail before he is through.”

9. “The Church is the hope of the world.” This is a bedrock belief for me. Yet, I find it problematic. 

On one hand there are problems aplenty in the church world. Some of those problems are big and have wounded people deeply. That’s so wrong. There’s no hope there.

On the other hand there’s the church world  where so much good is being done and people are being lifted up out of rough places. That’s so edifying.

Sometimes, I can forget the good things. When I forget I begin to lose hope. When I lose hope I can become apathetic. When I’m apathetic I become part of the problem. 

The church always needs renewal. Clarence Jordan of “Cotton Patch Gospel” fame offers a thoughtful reminder:  “I really don’t think we can ever renew the church until we stop thinking of it as an institution and start thinking of it as a movement.” 

Institutions find it necessary to be protective of its turf and they do that by turning inward and then circling the wagons. That’s when the problems start surfacing. The church on the go has no wagons to circle. 

10. “God does not hear us as man hears. Unless you shout with your lungs and chest and lips, a mere man does not hear; whereas to God your very thoughts shout.” ~ St. Augustine

This is good. It reminds me that I pray far more than I think I do. “To God your very thoughts shout.” Yah, I like that. 

The post Mike’s Rumblings – 11-18-22 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is a weekly release of the spiritual practice Lectio Divina. I hope you’ll listen and ponder the scripture passage offered and let me know your thoughts. My email address is [email protected]. Also, feel free to share this podcast on your social media or tell a friend about it. 

If you’d like to support this podcast you can do so through a gift to PayPal using the email address [email protected].

If you enjoy the beautiful guitar music, you can learn more about Steve Wick and how to purchase his music on his website.

The post Lectio Divina 26 – John 10:11-18 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.