The Burnt Over District - video reflection

This is a seasonal reflection I created on video a couple years ago. The music is "The Burnt Over District" by Hem. I I slowed it down somewhat for time and effect.

Resonating with Brokenness?

I pursue a practice of daily devotions (note: pursuing is not the same as achieving) and when my devos are suitable for public view I often post them on my Feral Pastor Facebook page.  A recent post there that touched on the experience of brokenness, and how "cheering people up" is often not the best approach, seemed to get more attention that most.  Maybe that's just because simply naming the reality of brokenness has a powerful resonance with a lot of people.  Whatever the reason, I thought I'd also post that reflection here in case it was a blessing to others.

"Shameless" Sermon Series, Part Four: "unComfortably Numb"

In the fourth and final message in my Shameless series, we look at the ripple effects of a disconnected life and the ways we try to numb the pain, which leads to more pain, which leads to more numbing.  We revisit the central message of the series, which is how God goes past the symptoms on the outside and deals with the VSD at the center of our hearts.  From there, the series winds up with a call to share what we have found with others as "Ambassadors for Christ."  All this, and Heinz 57 steak sauce as well!

 
Sermon from June 30th, 2013 from Gethsemane on Vimeo.

Anne Lamott Nails It for the Shame Series

This Facebook post from Anne Lamott is so perfect for the whole series I've been doing on shame and the struggle to achieve our own good-enoughness. Anne Lamott.... broken AND beautiful, just like all the rest of us!

Last week, when I was having the experience that almost every writer longs for, I got as mental and confused and low self-esteem as I've been in a while. And everyone I was with was extremely sweet, smart and affirming. It was the damn system that failed, the system I was raised believing in, that I can achieve and impress and people-please SO successfully, that I will finally get the seal of approval sufficient to fill the Swiss cheesey holes in my soul. I will have arrived, finally. Yay

During this pretty high-falutin' experience under the bright lights, w/ kind smart people and FABULOUS make-up, I felt like I'd 9 cups of coffee, two bags of candy corn, a box of chocolate truffles-- Heaven, right? I love being out of my body, tripping on my own fabulousness, mood-altered to within an inch of my life. And then guess what happened? You're going to hate this

It ended. Yes! My turn was over. All the smart kind people--and even my make-up person--TRAITOR!--went on to the next person. 

And then there was just me, even more needy, worried, and self-doubting than usual--had I talked too much? Too fast? I had meant to sound like a cross between Gloria Steinem and Ram Dass--but had just sounded like a very caffeinated ME. Regular old human me, beautiful, slightly nuts, flawed. Trying to tell my truth about God and being human, in my own voice.

Sigh. Then I flew home, to my dogs, my life, my writing, church, etc, and I drank a lot of water, and my friends loved me out of ALL sense of proportion, and I got to do the sacraments that save me--plop and putter. Reading to my grandson. Radical self-care--lots of rest, Wimbledon, salads, rubbing lotion into my fabulous jiggly thighs. Eating delicious low-sugar life-giving foods, with perhaps an excess of cherries and peaches. Okay, and plums. And that one night w/some See's. Getting a little writing done EVERY day, by pre-arrangement with myself, as a debt of honor. Teaching my Sunday school kids, that they are loved and chosen, safe beyond all understanding, and that to be alive in a miracle. 

Home! In my funny gorgeous dumb puttery life! Sweeping the kitchen, singing along with the Beatles. Hallelujah, and wow, and thank you thank you thank you.

"Shameless" Sermon Series, Part Three: "Brene, to the Therapist!"

Here's the third in my four-week series on shame.  I share a lot about my own interior life this week to show the multiple ways I see the Lord at work to heal and bless me, and to help destigmatize the very valuable things God provides through counseling and medication!

To watch the clip of Brene I refer to, go to bit.ly/browntedtalks and watch the segment from 10:50 to 14:40.

Also, if you want to see the Powerpoint slides directly, as they are hard to see on the video, you can find them here. 

These sermons are being done at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Maplewood, MN.  It concludes on Sunday, June 30th, 2013.



Sermon from June 23rd, 2013 from Gethsemane on Vimeo.

"Shameless" Sermon Series, Part Two: "The Shame Game"

Here's the second of my four week series on shame.  We get a look at the core of Brene's insights on shame, and then I make the connection to faith.  In a nutshell, I modify her wise words:

"Let yourself be seen, and believe that you are enough."

to link them to the spiritual reality of the loving God in this way:

"Let yourself be seen by God,  and believe your Father when He tells you that you are enough."

To watch the clip of Brene I refer to, go to bit.ly/browntedtalks and watch the segment from 6:06 to 11:20.

Also, if you want to see the Powerpoint slides directly, as they are hard to see on the video, you can find them here. 

This series is being done at Gethsemane Church in Maplewood, Minnesota.



Sermon from June 16th, 2013 from Gethsemane on Vimeo.

"Shameless" Sermon Series, Part One: "Brene to the Rescue!"

Here's the first in my Shameless sermon series.  (Every time I write "shameless sermon series" I feel like I'm apologizing for something.)  ;)

In this first sermon, entitled Brené to the Rescue!, researcher/storyteller Brené Brown sets out to solve the mystery of human connection and comes face-to-face with the great connection killer: Shame.  As a part of the sermon, the congregation undertakes an activity to challenge the shame of struggling with shame, seeing visually that this is a very common challenge among us.

(Early in the sermon we watched a 6 minute segment of Brené's TED Talk.  To respect the copyright on that talk, it is not included in the video below.  So I suggest you pause at that point and watch the first 6 minutes here.)

Sermon from June 9th, 2013 from Gethsemane on Vimeo.

"Shameless" Sermon Series and TED Talks

I'm gearing up for a series of sermons of freedom from shame.  The spark for this series was a hugely popular TED Talk by Brene Brown (see below), and I wanted to lift that up for people regardless of their interest in my own series.  It's good stuff.  I'm curious, also, just to know who may have already seen her talk, and if others have used it in worship or for teaching.

Here's the official article on my series.  It will be recorded and the videos will be posted here each week, typically by Sunday afternoon.

I am very excited to tell you about the sermon series I will be doing in June! It's entitled Shameless and will explore how the love of God frees us from feelings of shame and inadequacy. 

This series was inspired by a "TED Talk" video I saw online not long ago. TED Talks are short presentations by creative thinkers on a huge range of topics - everything from physics to fishing! The one that really grabbed me was by a woman named Brene Brown. In her presentation, she talked about the deep human experiences of connection and shame, love and vulnerability, sharing both her research and her personal journey towards whole-heartedness. This talk has been viewed over 9 million times! Brene has touched a lot of hearts with her insights and her personal courage to be open. Her core message is "Let yourselves be seen, and believe that you are enough."  

 

This is a true, profound and life-changing word of grace. And yet it leaves one essential thing unsaid: who is it that sees you, who says you are enough? The Shameless sermon series will seek to fulfill the promise of her talk by answering that question, inviting everyone to let themselves be seen by God and to believe their loving Father when he tells them they are enough.

Wrestling with shame has been a challenge for me personally over the years, and I'm so eager to share with others the grace I've found for dealing with that in Jesus. If you or someone you know ever struggles with feeling "unworthy" please be sure they get the word about this series! And by all means,encourage people to view Brene's talk online first. If they like what they find there, tell them the news gets even better when the love of God get into the mix!  

The series will go something like this...
Sunday June 9..............Brené to the Rescue!
Sunday June 16............The Shame Game
Sunday June 23............Brené, to the Therapist!
Sunday June 30............unComfortably Numb 

Now, is plugging my own sermon series a shameless thing to do?  Maybe so.  I guess I can live with that.  ;)