Practice Resurrection: send me your photos and captions!

For the next six weeks (from now until Pentecost), will you join me in feasting on Resurrection goodness in our everyday lives?

During Lent, the phrase retrieve lament captures me through the words of Rilke. During the Great Fifty Days of Easter, it's the lovable contrarian Wendell Berry exhorting my imagination with two words (plus many more): Practice Resurrection.

I also remember each year the passage I've fallen in love with from N.T. Wright:

"... we should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children's games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts, anything that comes to mind. this is our greatest festival....This is our greatest day. We should put the flags out. 

...if Lent is a time to give things up, Easter ought to be a time to take things up. Champagne for breakfast again -- well, of course....The forty days of the Easter season, until the ascension, ought to be a time to balance out Lent by taking something up, some new task or venture, something wholesome and fruitful and outgoing and self-giving. You may be able to do it only for six weeks, just as you may be able to go without beer or tobacco only for the six weeks of Lent. But if you really make a start on it, it might give you a sniff of new possibilities, new hopes, new ventures you never dreamed of. It might bring something of Easter into your innermost life..."

After attending Good Friday service together this year, my daughters and I talked honestly about how sometimes Easter feels like a let-down. It seems to be easier to understand fasting better that feasting. We thought that might be, in part, because our world is generally obsessed with feasting, and whatever we try to do to mark Eastertide feels like the stuff we're normally trying to do every day anyway. 

Maybe so. 

I wonder, too, if sometimes feasting shows more plainly how far away from God we still live. When I can be satisfied in just the right amount of wine or chocolate, that is feasting. When I can't stop either one, that turns into gluttony - which is no longer true feasting. In some ways, fasting is easier, see?

Put another way: feasting is a discipline, too. We take in the good with gratitude and contentment without making an idol of the gifts. This requires us to depend on the Creator as much (maybe more so) as any other spiritual exercise.

So that's what I've been pondering.

The last couple of years, we've celebrated Eastertide on this blog with photos and captions you send me each week. It's one of my favorite series all year, and I'm excited it's time to start again!

For the next six weeks (from now until Pentecost), will you join me in feasting on Resurrection goodness in our everyday lives? It can be as simple as a special candle you use for your meals during Eastertide or as elaborate as travelling across the world to meet new people. 

Whatever it is, will you show us a picture and tell us a few words? Plant spring flowers (maybe a new variety this year)? Show us! Get up to see the sun rise on a Sunday morning? Tell us about it! Take a new route to work (maybe taking more time than necessary in honor of the mad farmer)? Share it!

Three steps to play along:

1. Add something to your day that helps you practice resurrection. (one day or fifty days doesn't matter)  

2. Take a picture and write a description in 1-50 words.  

3. Share it with me via an email, Facebook. I'll share some of your photo-stories with everyone here each week.

Who's in?

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Thank you to these friends who are helping me kick off this weekly series: 

"I journeyed and prayed through the prayer labyrinth this morning out at the Shrine of St. Therese. There I laid my sorrows down. There I thanked Him for His suffering and enduring the cross. There I laid the 25 years of my marriage down. There I begged Him to be kind and gracious and to forgive my failures. He is full of grace and freedom. Thank you Jesus for all you are to me." (Wendy Wall, Juneau, AK)

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(I love an artist willing to share a photo of his work in progress!) "Day one of my next parable painting : Mark 4:26-29 26 He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, 27 and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28 The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’ " (Jim Janknegt, Austin)

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"We haven't traveled locally nearly as much here in Texas.... I think we have to be really intentional or else it doesn't happen, what with city life and unbelievable traffic in our day-to-day. Today? We decided to let the kids take a day off school and take their learning on the road - just like we used to. Feels good to find a familiar rhythm today." (Tsh Oxenreider, Austin. By the way, you can read about this excursion at Tsh's blog, The Art of Simple)

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"Easter welcomes outdoor running on Lake Michigan." (Sarah Lewis, Chicago)

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"A few little vignettes from today's Easter feast with darling friends. I'm so happy to have had a house full of laughing and toasting and food." / "Phaedra printed a collection of posters for Easter and placed them throughout the house. It was like a scavenger hunt for words that dearly need to be true and images that made our spaces beautiful. God knows I need his resurrection life, and thank Jesus for it." (Phaedra & David Taylor, Richmond, TX)

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"Just because!" (Kim & Gracie Akel, Austin)

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"I was overwhelmed today that God would send me to Japan at such a gloriously beautiful time as cherry blossom blooming. I'm so glad he knows our hearts and gives us these good gifts." (Tammy Burger, Binghamton, NY)

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Prelude to Vespers, Easter Sunday at Orcas Island Community Church  (Brian Moss, Eastsound, WA)

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Now it's your turn. Who wants to join us?

The best place to start is with another reading of the poem that inspires our Eastertide blog series....

Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front

 by Wendell Berry

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.

So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion – put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.

Practice resurrection. 

Lent daybook, 32: It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover

My Lent daybook for these 40 days of prayer. Join me, won't you? (see previous Lent daybook 2016 posts here)

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look

Lent

Phaedra Taylor

source

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read

Exodus 12:21-27

Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

all readings for the day: Psalm 126; Exodus 12:21-27; John 11:45-57

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pray

Sisters and brothers,
as Jesus, in the days before his passion,
offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears,
let us pray for those who suffer, those who are in need,
and those who seek reconciliation.

Include prayers here for your family, friends, neighborhood and the world.  

God of compassion, you know our faults and yet you promised to forgive. Keep us in your presence and give us your wisdom. Open our hearts to gladness, call dry bones to dance, and restore to us the joy of your salvation. Amen. (source)

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listen

When I See the Blood by Nathan Partain

( I invite you to listen with me to my ever-evolving Lent playlist & Lent Spirituals playlist )

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do

Using the guide below, take time today to examine your heart and look for meaningful ways to put your faith into practice.

#1 Prayer of Self Examination
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24)

Take a moment to quiet your heart and reflect upon the past week. Look especially for ways to express gratitude and thanksgiving to God for his goodness and love, as well as genuine sorrow over your own sin and brokenness. Close this time of prayer by expressing your hope in the power of the Holy Spirit who is faithful to forgive, cleanse, and transform you into his likeness (2 Cor. 3:18).

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(see all Lent daybook posts from 2015 here)

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

a weekly capturing the contentment in everyday life 

| pretty |

Pentecost art commission at Christ Church

These photos don't even begin to do justice to Phaedra Taylor's stunning reflection on Psalm 85 for Pentecost.  If I can find a digital version of her Artist's Statement or some better photos to share I'll post again.  

Follow Phaedra on Instagram for studio photos of this commission and so many other beautiful things. 

(also, as lovely as our rented sanctuary is I can't wait for the day to show you Christ Church's new home!) 

| happy |

CSA

I can't remember if I've mentioned yet on the blog, but this is our first experience with a CSA.  We're splitting a weekly basket with our friends (and neighbors!), the Akels.  Last week I got the fun of pick up.  I couldn't help snapping a shot of this beautiful bounty on the porch at our neighborhood hub.  Isn't God magnificent?  Telecote Farm isn't bad either!

So far the experience is sort of like therapy for our weary selves.  First we gather and divide the bounty. Then -- this week -- Brian, Leo and I got to walk the Akel's basket to their front porch.  I experimented with carrying it on my head and totally get why that has worked in other cultures for millenia. When we got to the Akel's, Mike happened to be  home and we spent a happy 15 minutes discussing his current film project.  We brainstormed a bit, and promised to pray over it in the coming months. Then we spent much of the weekend chopping, pickling and roasting veggies. 

If you know me at all, you'll probably recognize the perfection of all of this.  If there were a vocation called "Walk around carrying beautiful things to share with people and talk about art and creative projects and bless the people making all this stuff", that would totally be my calling in life.

Of course, the eating part was pretty great too.  

| funny |

Rained Out Celebration

Trust me, I am not operating this vehicle at the time of the photo. On Saturday we'd planned a fun outdoor dinner at our personal favorite BBQ in Austin.  The idea is that you don't mind waiting for a table because it's BYOB and there are picnic tables and twinkle lights and sometimes live bands.  A couple of problems:  it was UT graduation weekend and it was pouring down rain in sheets.  Picture several hundred people huddled under collapsing tents.  Fortunately, we have friends who don't mind Plan B's.  And we still managed to have brisket and celebration inside about 2 hours after we took this photo.  Providentially, we left Driftwood less than an hour before the storm became something entirely un-funny.

| real |

  

photo credit

I didn't take this photo because, thankfully, I wasn't close enough to any of the tragic flooding that took place in Austin and several small surrounding towns.  I've been over this bridge on several happy occasions, though, and am heartbroken for the lives and homes lost in the flooding.

We are no strangers to flood.  In 2006 our family was flown by Chinook out of our little town in upstate NY.  Thankfully, we didn't lose any property then, either.  But we are very familiar with living in a neighborhood filled with wrecked, waterlogged, and mud-stinking houses.  It's horrible and sad and exhausting for everyone who does the work of clean up.  

You can donate to flood relief efforts through the Austin Disaster Relief Network here.

| Join in at P,H,F,R to see other wonderful people practicing contentment. |

7 quick takes: weekend of so many good things

or Saturday night/almost Sunday morning

--- 1 ---

One thing Brian and I have learned to love about Austin is the optimistic energy that permeates pretty much the entire city.  People come to Austin not just to be here but to do things.  Fun things, exciting things, Big Things.  Our first year meeting the people of our new church kind of blew our minds.  We began to joke privately that if we met one more person pursuing a Ph.D. or starting a non-profit to save the world or working in some sort of President (as in the U.S.) - appointed position, we were gonna turn around and run back "home". We felt pretty small in the middle of so much achievement. 

After living our entire lives in a rust-belt, depressed city, our little jaded hearts weren't sure they could handle all the Can-Do spirit of this place.  Also, spending time with people who Do Things can become quite exhausting. Left unchecked, Doing becomes frenetic -- rather than intentional -- motion. We began to think maybe the best gift we could offer our new community is a little bit of calm, a listening ear and a good beverage.  

This is all fine and good until weekends like this very one.  Weekends when so many people we love and respect are Doing Good Things and inviting us to join.  How does one decide?  I'm not sure.  

For now, I take my day of rest and blog about them.

--- 2 ---

Allies Against Slavery 

Slave-Free City Summit

I'd originally planned to attend at least part of this event.  I respect deeply the work that John Nehme and others have done to fight slavery in Austin.   

4 ways to stand against sexual violence this April

May God get glory for His name and accomplish His purposes for life through all the hard work that went into this annual event and into the daily work of Allies Against Slavery.

--- 3 ---

 Our Bodies Proclaim the Gospel - Christopher West

Across town in the property our Christ Church has just purchased, a day-long seminar in the Faith & Culture series:

"Christopher West - Best Selling Author, Speaker, Teacher and World-Renowned Expert in John Paul II’s  Theology of the Body - will present a bold, biblical vision of love and sexuality that takes us to the “cor” of what it means to be human.  His global lecturing, best selling books and multiple audio and video programs have also made him the world’s most recognized teacher of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body."

I'd also intended to attend at least part of this event.  Instead, I added two books to my reading pile.  Nothing too serious - ha!

--- 4 ---

Buzz Stops Here, opening reception
Art.Science.Gallery.

One of my favorite artists -- and lovely friends - Phaedra Taylor  created work for this exhibition of encaustic artwork.  I am totally intrigued to learn more about the history and mystery of the humble bee which Phaedra's work explores.  I will get to the exhibition -- just not today.

THE BUZZ STOPS HERE | APRIL 18 – MAY 30, 2015

--- 5 ---

Speaking of Phaedra Taylor:  Christ Church commissioned her to create a triptych for our Pentecost celebration this year.  A group of artists and other helpful collaborators met this weekend to prepare interactive pieces for the commissioned work.  I'd intended to attempt one of the evenings for this work.  (I certainly appreciate the value of behind-the-scenes collaboration for art in church, after all!)

But I did not make it either Friday or Saturday evening to help out.

--- 6 ---

An Acoustic Evening with Jason Harrod

Our favorite troubadour hit Austin on his Texas tour.  This was the things I managed to do this weekend.  It's not every day, of course, that we get to see a friend from "home".  And it was worth it even though we drove through Austin's Friday evening rush hour AND rain which means (and this literal) it took us an hour and a half to get the 20 miles from our appointment to pick up our friend Krista and get to the concert.  Absolutely maddening, I tell you.  Thankfully we were rewarded with beautiful music and conversation with good friends.

Somehow we never thought about taking a photo together.  Here's a couple from a little over a year ago when we hosted Jason for a house show (which we hope to do again as soon as we're able).

[2014]

Our friend Krista joined Jason for 2 shows last year.
In my future life, I'm going to become their manager.  We're gonna be great...

--- 7 ---

This week four of our friends in four different states gave birth to four sweet babies.  On Friday we got to visit baby Henri here in Austin.  It was a quiet affair with his momma and daddy and 1 sister, quietly tucked away in a hospital room.  In fact, Henri slept through the whole thing. He's lucky to be born into a family who live with hope in a resurrected Christ who brings life to the ground of grief.  I wouldn't have traded this event for any other on the calendar. 

Tomorrow we celebrate the baptism of our friends' dear son, Emmett.  We've been deeply honored by the invitation to be his Godparents.  We'll celebrate with our church family and then, later in his yard with doughnuts and tea.  It will be lovely and we'll soak up more sweet time with people we've grown to love. 

And that's all I be able to include in my social calendar this weekend.  Partly because I'm trying to learn how to discipline myself to the time and space I have -- even, and maybe especially, for beauty.  I took a nap, bought special coffee for my daughter and me, read a book, chatted with a niece, nephew, Mom and a couple of sisters, did some laundry.  Not Big Things, but good things, nonetheless.  

Oh, it made me afraid to not experience each one of these good things.  Afraid I would miss out, yes, but to be the most honest, afraid to not be seen.  To not count as one who is also going to Do Things here in Austin.  Well, from my lips to God's ears, may I do all that He has for me to do -- no more and no less.  May this somehow count in his upside-down economy as Enough.  

In the meantime, I will keep looking for the Risen Christ every place I find myself.  I'd love to hear how you are practicing resurrection during Eastertide.  Check out the #practiceresurrection2015 series and send us a photo story or two in these coming weeks, won't you?

--- Other good words online this week ---

• A New Wrinkle in Time by Jennifer Maloney at WSJ:  A never-seen-before passage from an early draft of one of my favorite stories and I think it makes the story even better.

• The Ebola Detectives at BBC News:  This article is a few weeks old, but one I've been hanging on to for the stunning graph marking God's answer to our prayers for the end of the Ebola outbreak in Africa.  

• Practice Resurrection 2015 (and a round up of resources on the same theme) at Lent & Beyond:  What a fun surprise to see the #practiceresurrection2015 and Easter daybook posts featured in this blog post from a resource I follow all throughout the Church year!  "It is truly MUST READING for anyone wanting encouragement to celebrate the full 50 days of the Easter Season."  Probably the best "blurb" my blog ever got!

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Hoping for a good and content weekend for us all, friends.

Peace....

*Linking up with other 7 Quick Takers.*