Walk of Shame Pass

Well, I wish I could say that my pastors at church read about our weekly walk of shame on Sunday and wrote me back with this:

Dear Woo Crew,

We read on your blog (what wonderful beginnings for a ministry) about your walk of shame on Sundays and really truly understand your pain. Since Sunday mornings are a challenge to get to church for your family, we focused on this during out weekly staff meeting and thought that we could assist you with several items to make your Sunday morning life much easier.   

1. Visitor Parking - you are more than welcome to park in the most upfront, closest to church visitor parking spot even though you have been a member for the last 5 years. For goodness sakes, take the handicap parking spot if you need to! That request to park off campus in the neighborhood because we are overcrowded doesn't apply to you.  

2. Back Row Reserved - We are just going to go ahead and reserve the back row pew for you. We'll even put a plaque on it with your name. You now have permanent real estate because it IS all about location, location, location.  

3. Donut Run - Since the kids are a little bit tired when they come to church, we'll just leave 3 boxes of donut holes on your pew for them that way you don't have to make the donut run yourself.  

We are just happy that you come to church and love seeing your whole family there. If I could, I'd stop in the middle of my sermon to give you guys a thumbs up just for being there!

No judgment.
Love,
Your church pastors

Our Sunday A-game

After writing about the walk of shame and arriving at church late every Sunday, I was on my A-game the next Saturday night. Everything has prepared and preplanned so nothing could go wrong.   And everything went right -  except the unexpected.

It started with my dog's fur lying oddly on one side his face. Glenn guessed that Buck had hives. He didn't quite look like those dogs on google so we googled some more. By the time we thought we should give him some benadryl just in case, he looked like this. Eyes and jowls swollen. Bumps all over his face and body. Poor guy kept scratching and rubbing his face with his paws and rolling all over the carpet to scratch his back.

When I left for Petco to get emergency supplies, Buck was pathetically lying in Glenn's office with Glenn scratching his face.   

And that is why we didn't go to church this Sunday. The dog ate our Sunday A-game.

Walk of Shame

Late again...
      and AGAIN...
To church...

Taking that L-O-N-G walk of shame up the aisle to the very front of church, the very first pew where we cannot hide our tardiness. The one where I nod a hello to the pastor while wearing your Sunday best fake smile to hide the frowns of my children. 

The premium back rows in church are occupied by people who have arrived early or on time or late, but, at least before we did.

                                 So my kids and I take a walk, up the front, to the first pew. 

My kids fight me,
                 I fight my kids,
To church,
              For God.

I am positive that when they grow up and remember church and God, it's going to be
                       memories of nagging,
           pleadings ignored,
                              hungry stomaches and sullen car rides,
occasionally sweetened with a run for donuts to make us
               even more tardy, but pleasant on a sugar high.

When they get older and grow up, I don't want them to remember me as Sunday-Angry mom.

I want them to realize you have to be fierce, determined, and unwaivering to something important that makes me walk through the challenges of 'weakly' protests.

I am betting on Him to smooth out the jagged, sharp memories that it takes to get them there.

His love and grace are more moving than this Sunday-angry mom and THIS is the message I hope imprints into their hearts that makes the walk worthy.

No Slayed Gluten and Sugar Dragons...Let's Talk Crucifixion...

Umm...today started that I was going to write about slaying gluten and sugar dragons to go along with my gluten and sugarfreeness of life, but got sidetracked.  Life happens.

And when it does, because it will, somehow I find myself writing about crucifixions, shame, and humiliation.   No easy to digest homilies...but, stay with me, please, because there is good stuff to share at the end. 

The cross today is a simple symbol that represents hope and renewal to Christians today. 
In Christ's time, the cross was a symbol of shame and fear.   It represented crucifixion which was the ultimate, humiliating punishment to the person being punished and the family, if they were still willing to claim that family member.

I am a Christian.  I believe Christ was crucified and endured the indignity gracefully so everyone in the world who believed in Him could have a relationship with Him and God - not the thundering voice reigning down on you as you cower under the bed type of relationship, but the type to join you under the bed and say that things are going to work out ok. 

He didn't come to shame the world.  He rose above what the world defined as shameful to be an example to give us courage to withstand the shame of the crosses from the world.    I feel the crosses of the world.  You know the feeling, too.
 
That feeling when... you don't have the right kind of car...your dress is a 'classic'  - kind of like your car...your spouse has been having an affair and wants a newer model instead of the 'classic' he has...you've lost your job and are worried about bills...your kid is failing in school...your long kept secret

Yeah, this stuff happens, but this connection to God, that was bridged through scorning the shame of the cross, can fill you up with hope, joy, and peace.  It doesn't matter if your connection to God is hanging by a piece of lint or a tree planted by streams of water.    It all starts with a simple conversation under the bed, in the bathroom, in your car...anywhere is fine.  "Hi, God."

God will give lavishly to you hope, joy, and peace.    

I'm a Church Fly

"See?  It WAS fun!!" my friend laughed at me when I gave her my positive conclusion of tonight's evening.

 

The previous day I asked her to pray for my bad attitude stemming from pressure and panic of folding a hundred pieces of paper into origami flowers for a church dinner the next day.   "Are paper cuts and glue gun burns really a God assignment?"  I texted her.

 

Inspite of my injuries, the evening was fun and a great time to hang out with girlfriends. My friend and I talked underneath the parking lot light afterwards to catch up and laughed about how 24 hours could change someone's attitude from bad to good.

 

Months had gone by without a good chat with each other - different kids' schedules, church schedules, and life, in general, just interrupting.    So there we were in the parking lot and talked and talked.

 

But, it was here that I realized that if you step up with your sisters in Christ to God's table, He doubles the portion of grace in your life that comes from fellowship with these women.   What was sour is now sweet.   What seemed horrible is now pretty funny.   Paper transforms into flowers.  The black night is brightened by light-hearted conversation.

 

The hour was getting late and sleep time was slipping away before it would blur into a day full of activities and errands and carpools.  We left with the hope to meet up next week.   

 

I pulled out and rounded the corner to the darkened front of the church.   No lights were on inside.  No cars in the front parking lot.   The pastor's wife, women's ministry director, and all the other guests had left long ago.

 

That's when I realized with a chuckle that I had closed down a church, but never had closed down a bar.     

 

And that is a wonderful gift that comes from Table Grace.