My grandmother passed away 4 years ago. She was an incredible woman who had lost 90% of her hearing as a baby because of contracting the German measles. Fortunately she was able to gain enough language skills that it did not impact her speech. My grandmother also had the wonderful gift of being able to read lips which greatly assisted her with communication. Music was a love of my grandmothers despite her lack of hearing. Even though she was unable to hear the full blown range of a song she was fascinated with music and could hear just enough to move her. It was a miracle that even with her hearing deficiency's she was able to graduate from Graceland University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music. It was at her funeral where I felt the Holy Spirit press down upon me during the first song "Now in this Moment". It's a song that stood so much for who my Grandmother was. As the beautiful voices filled the sanctuary, I knew my grandmother's spirit was there listening to the sound of all those singing. And for the first time ever she could hear the fullness of music. Tears streamed down my face and I struggled to sing because I was too choked up to mutter out any words. I stood listening and knowing that she was joyfully smiling at each one in attendance and dancing with angels in the sky. It was after the ceremony that I found my mother had the same experience I had during the song. My grandmother's steady, determined personality and life showed me that we get to create our life despite what factors might inhibit it. Our attitude and response to life circumstances are more important then the challenges themselves. So what are some keys to keeping or creating that positive, determine attitude. Lets explore this further. Now In This Moment (Blessed Assurance Tune) Now in this moment, now in this day We are creating and leading the way Life is behind us life is before We write the story not heard before. This is our story, this is our song Praising our Savior all the day long This is our story this is our song Praising our Savior all the day long Past, present, future, joy, sorrow, hope These write the stories and life is our scope God's love assures us through the unknown God's love sustains us were not alone This is our story, this is our song Praising our Savior all the day long This is our story this is our song Praising our Savior all the day long 6 Proactive Ways to Change Attitude 1. See Failure as a Mechanism for Growth - When we see our failures or mistakes at learning opportunities we allow ourselves room to grow. It softens our ego allowing our minds and experience to expand. 2. Seek Out Positivity - The people we are around have a major impact on who we are. If we are wanting to make changes in our attitude toward life we need to become aware of the factors impacting it currently. Assess your friendships and relationships and determine if they are positive and healthy. When we seek out positivity we usually are encouraged and supported along the journey. 3. Laugh Often - Laughing creates joy. When we are joyful we carry ourselves with a better mood. Laughing decreases our stress and opens us up to not taking ourselves so seriously. The world is a funny place, so please open your eyes and laugh. 4. Be Purposeful by Setting Goals - When we intentionally set goals and focus our on personal growth we move mountains. Being goal oriented changes our mindset and forces to become resilient in everything we do. We tend to not be held down by setbacks because of our vision is further down the road. So find ways to set personal goals for yourself. 5. Forgive Others - I have found our judgments of others is usually an indicator that we are not in a balanced, healthy place. By forgiving others we allow ourselves to be compassionate. Our thoughts change from putting down the person for not meeting our expectations to trying to understand what else is going on in that persons life. Its a major shift that allows people to be people with all the junk life throws at us. 6. Have Faith in Something Greater Than Yourself - My grandmother had a dynamic faith that I have always been amazed with. Believing in something greater than ourselves acknowledges our point of view and being are not the center of the world. There is more going on and we are a piece of the moving puzzle. Understanding this allows our mind to change from being about me to being about others, the world, and how we can contribute. I appreciate the continued support for this blog! Please contact us if you would life more information about ministries or just someone to chat with.
This week assess your life and figure out what changes you need to live your best self as part of this worldwide community.
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In 2006 I spent the summer in Australia with World Service Corps. It was an amazing experience learning about another culture and being introduced into what it means to be present with others. The 15 hour flight had us arrive first thing in the morning in Melbourne. Our hosts met my world service corp partner and I at the airport and let us know it was better for us to stay up as long as we could that day to help us adjust for the time difference. Our schedule was busy orienting to our new place, learning and playing the sport footie, and attending a scripture study that night in a members home. By the time we got to the scripture study it was almost 7:00 at night. The people were excited to meet and entertain us for the evening. They welcomed us with much joy and made us feel right at home. I have no idea what scripture we studied but half way through my eyes shut. Good night folks thats all there was! The back of my eyelids were just too hard to resist. Luckily I don't snore and hopefully I didn't drool. Someone eventually woke me up and I was welcomed to have dessert with them. No matter how tired you are, you can always eat dessert! They pulled out this amazing trifle which I scarfed down before traveling an hour back to our hosts home. Thinking about this funny memory makes me laugh. Now obviously the people knew my circumstances but even if they didn't I don't think it would have mattered. The people were genuine, gracious and loving. Welcoming was part of their nature even if I hadn't acted in my best form. It was something they had chosen and strived to be well before I knew them. There are so many ways to welcome others. Despite the method the meaning comes through. You openly offer what you have and who you are to others without reservation or condition. What can we do to show hospitality to others? What is the welcoming nature of God? Let's explore this further. Hospitality and Hostmanship Hospitality is the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. This definition indicates it is an action but I also think it is a mindset we can choose everyday if we wish. Hospitality is all about welcoming others with an overwhelming grace. We do not have to be perfect, or have everything in place. That's not what its about. We must remove all of our expectations and conditions. Its about understanding the needs of others and meeting them where they are at. If we can do this we will truly be hospitable and welcoming to others. Jan Gunnarsson from Sweden talks about Hostmanship in his Tedxtalk "How To Make People Feel Welcome." He lists qualities of a welcoming mindset (openness, curiosity, non-judgment, humility, sensibility, respect, presence, and dialogue) which I really like and goes on to state it really starts with us as an individual. Its a call for us to be present in the moment. Not thinking about the next task, our own intentions, but merely listening to the person whose face we see in front of us. Enjoy the short Tedtalk! The Welcoming Nature of God Community of Christ believes God's divine self is best revealed in Jesus Christ. Jesus' message and actions speak to the welcoming nature of God. Jesus loved those he came in contact with unconditionally. His radical love crossed cultural boundaries, gender stereotypes, and religious laws. Children were asked to come unto him as he welcomed their presence. Matthew 25:35 says "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in." Jesus welcomed the stranger, the poor, the unholy, and the sinner into his life without hesitation. He saw the worth in them even when they themselves did not. Jesus engaged them with his presence, listened to their stories, and called them a child of God. You too are part of his fold no matter what has happened. Jesus understood God's love has no boundaries and it was through these acts that he was to teach us the true nature of God's love and welcoming spirit. We are called to find this characteristic in ourselves, in our time and place? It is through our self-reflection and choice in which we become more welcoming and present with others. If Jesus was here today who would he welcome to teach us? Who is it in your life that you need to welcome? Taking the time to be welcoming allows us to take a breath and live in the moment. We open ourselves us to allowing God to work instead of always trying to get back to our own agenda. It takes us out of the equation and puts our focus on others and the moment we are in. We can allow welcoming to be apart of us if we let ourselves. Let us each take the steps toward a welcoming mindset so that we can live the love of Jesus in our lives. I appreciate the comments and positive statements on all of our social media posts. Keep them coming!
This week take a breath and give the next person you meet your undivided attention. Many churches make bold claims about God, Jesus, heaven, hell, and various other Christian terms. It's awesome to have a belief system that helps you navigate the roadways of life. However when those belief systems cause division, point fingers or break down relationships then maybe its time they are questioned. One thing my family and this faith community, have taught me that its ok to say “I’m not for sure” or “I don’t have it all figured out.” It's a freedom in knowing I do not have to have all the answers. The notion throws away rigidity and rightness and declares questions and lack of knowing as a natural process of our faith. With this sigh of relief people are allowed to lean into the divine being a mystery to which we are all discovering. Knowing any encounter can be the spirit breathing further understanding of God in our lives. So why do some of us feel the need to be right and believe we have all the answers? How can our faith grow with the openness of not knowing? Understanding Bias Much of peoples need to be right comes from our own personal biases. A bias is a prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. When we specifically look at faith much of our beliefs come from what we have grown up knowing. We hold biases based on the belief system that has been engrained in us. Now this is not bad, its just important to be aware that how we see the world and what we believe about the world may not be the entirety of what there is. Chaehan So talks specifically about selective perception in regards to confirmation bias, self-serving bias, and hindsight bias. The ones he goes over is just a few of the 50 cognitive biases he states there are. It's a great Tedtalk informing us about our own internal processes and how many times we are wrong. Take the time to check it out as I promise he is entertaining and has good information. So what does this information about biases mean for our unique faith journeys? Well we all might use this information differently. It informs me that I need to continually be open to listening and hearing ideas that are contrary to my prior judgements or beliefs. For others it may mean that exploring faith and other denominations is ok because its about figuring out what is right for you instead of holding onto potential bias. Faith Growing By Not Knowing Now many of us hate not knowing. I mean google is at our fingertips and with a few strokes we calm our fears by finding the answer. Uncertainty can be a beast in our lives. Researchers have found uncertainty is correlated with stress. The article "Why We Hate Not Knowing For Sure" indicates the more someone knows what will happen the less stressed they are even it if is a horrible outcome. Its calming for us to know, and we seek out that feeling. However on the other hand, in some situations we can feel like we are the only ones that do not know causing added stress. Think about new experiences you have had, or walking into a church for the first time. We put stress on ourselves because we do not know how it will be or what to do. The article "The Wisdom of Not Knowing" talks about the freedom associated with not knowing everything. Many times others have been in the exact same situation or don't know either. But it seems like it takes so much time to figure that out. That's why being vulnerable is so important because it allows us to be free. With faith there is great benefits of knowing your beliefs. It becomes an internal and external moral compass for how we live. However knowing your beliefs can also create lines causing what is not on that side or challenges it, to be wrong. When we take on an attitude of not having it all figured out we open up the freedom of finding God in new ways. Now I'm not saying throw everything away. That would be demolishing and send us into a crisis. Your past faith experiences should be lifted up and held valuable. But just as there are two sides to every story we must figure out the rest of it for ourselves and what is right for us individually. It is perfectly ok to be set in what you believe if that works for you. Just be aware of how those beliefs inform your actions and dialogue with others. Ask yourself if it hinders in anyway relationships from being formed or good deeds from being done? If we are to live like Jesus we need to eliminate the biases from our lives by being open to the spirit that leads us. We must see outside of our own perceptual lenses. It is in this task of opening ourselves up that we may actually begin to figure things out. Our blog is continuing to see great growth. If you feel like you have something to contribute and would like to be a guest blogger please submit your information at our contact us page and we will consider it.
This week reflect on your own interactions. Identify biases you have and how you can make changes. |
Please Note The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Community of Christ. We believe individuals should be allowed to have their own opinions and be at different places in their faith journey.
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June 2021
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Emporia Ministry
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