The Crowns We Wear...

"Deck yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor." - Job 40:10

I went on a field trip this weekend with our choir. We went into Austin to see the musical CROWNS as the Zachary Scott Theatre. What an incredible experience.

In case you haven't heard of it, it is the story of 6 African American women, and their hats. Specifically, their church hats. Each hat told a story, and each story touched me to the core.

It wasn't just the fact that purchasing a hat was a significant financial investment for these women. And it wasn't just the fact that they faced discrimination and indignity from storeowners during those early days of desegregation. It wasn't just the uniqueness of each hat and its owner. What touched me most was the pride and the dignity with which each woman had crowned herself.

Her hat spoke of her love of God. It spoke of her faith. And it spoke of her determination to look beyond the ignorance and prejudices of society to stand before God as a Queen.

I am thankful to these beautiful, powerful, faith-filled women for helping me remember that NOTHING can stop us from claiming the Queendom of Heaven. And so, in my own way, I deck my Spirit with majesty and dignity so that, like them, I may make visible the unwavering presence and power of God. Amen.

A "Highly Improbable" Week...

It's Monday morning, and I'm feeling tired and energized at the same time. Our Spiritual Education and Enrichment Retreat was last week, and I feel the exhaustion of completing something that we've been working toward for so long. At the same time, I feel the exhileration that is created from sharing our blessings with others, emersing myself in a spiritual learning environment, and basking in the glow of so many enchanting people.

The words of Rev. Tom Thorpe ring through my head, as he looked around at what has been created and noted that such a manifestation is "highly improbable" for a town of our size, a church of our age, and such a young congregation.

I love the idea of joining the ranks of other historically improbable events, such as turning water into wine, walking on water, and other manifestations that make us say, "Wow! What are the odds of that??!"

Thanks to all who graced my week last week. You have blessed me.
(Pictured above, participants of our first class, Metaphysics I with Rev. Paul Hasselbeck.)