The Five D’s

I didn’t expect it at all.

The podcast I listen to weekly, “Building a StoryBrand with Donald Miller,” usually features speakers with great stories of how they make their unique businesses flourish.

And then there was Jon Gordon. 

He’s worked with almost every major league coach and football team, as a speaker on leadership and teamwork.

And now he’s talking about - what? Good and evil?

Apparently he’s got a book coming out called “The Garden.” Its premise – which totally locked me in (he used my favorite literary device which helps lock in memory) - is that the devil uses five “D’s” to trap us, to get us off course. The five D’s?

Doubt – discouragement – distraction - distortion - division.

He got me.

I found myself stopping on my walk to write it down on my phone.

He was so right. Completely captivating. All week, one of those ‘D’s would surface - all the while conscious of who I am in Christ.

His antidotes were harder for me to remember because they weren’t alliterated.

Basically, I have to claim the D’s have no power over me.  

In addressing doubt, I can use trust, and stop reacting in fear - there is a Bible quote from Matthew I used in my book - “fear is useless, what is needed is trust.”

I loved how Gordon spoke of truth as an antidote - speaking truth to lies. When we doubt, we are often attacked in a place of our identity. We must remember it is God who created us. As for me, I’m always asking God to give me new lenses – to see more as God sees, love sees. It’s a very tall order, but at least a little grace can get me out of the funk of my limited, restrictive vision.

Jon Gordon also spoke about encouragement in the face of our discouragement. He quoted another leader who says we should sometimes talk to ourselves instead of listen to ourselves. For me, letting the little girl within speak is the most accurate voice I can find – after my Creator’s of course. She never steers me wrong, always tells me the truth – which I often don’t want to hear.

And focus? Indeed Gordon said that distraction is the enemy of greatness. Since living here, my prayer life has deepened in a time of withdrawal, healing and intense preparation. In my heart, my creator speaks my truth to me. Last summer, before my daughter’s wedding, he’s very clearly said, “the wedding is but a distraction.“ We had a two month prep time to ready this old new to us house and grounds for it, but He didn’t want me to loose the focus on my prayer work. “The wedding is a distraction.” 

And I heard Maggie say that word in the same way this week ladies.

Distraction? Indeed, what a sly trickster that one is. When I see things through the stethoscope of my wounded heart, personalizing or catastrophizing, I loose sight of today, living in the now, using the gifts I’ve been given, doing my work that I’m called to in this day.

And the last D? Division - divide - indeed, that seems to be so timely. When we see the world in terms of victim/villain, us against them the wicked “other,” we divide. Gordon’s antidote? Communicate, commit, care - serve and commit to each other.

So as we shelter in place (for those of us who can) we can become aware of these five D’s and call them for what they are! Claim them as falsehoods, as tools of destruction – they are not about the healing love of Christ who calls us to be one in him.

28 March 2020

Going to remote conferencing for our classes--ZOOM!

Hi ladies!

Well--this has been a wonderfully eye-opening week of new adventures in 'tribal' living (i.e. living in the enclosed spaces of one's own "tribe"). I am hoping that all the moms are slowly but surely and successfully managing the new onslaught of tasks that are necessarily associated with in-Home Instruction, full-house meal prep, in-between laundry and keeping the household sanitized and sane!  I, too, quickly discovered the downside of "working from home" (even if for me that just means trying to keep our study going "remotely"... Gee, how much, um...easier it was to merely "escape" for a few hours every Wednesday morning! Hah!). 

Needless to say, between getting caught up in the news at hand, responding to requests to fill hungry tummies (my boys are currently banned from the kitchen and common-area utilities until they have proven themselves all-clear from their recent travels spanning 6+ airports in 10 days), fending off a bored (and curious!) kitty, and keeping up with the laundry that has suddenly seemed overflowing since everyone is home and I don't have the musical to distract me...I found I had a bit of difficulty completing my studies for this week!!

So, KUDOS to those who were able to complete the reading and homework, and maybe even view the DVD--you did better than I was able to! And thank you, Lorraine, Mandy and Maryann for contributing to the blog discussion for this session. Your comments were compelling enough to make me sit down in the wee hours of this morning to jump back into the books of Sirach and Wisdom!  

Ok, so as all of the schools, from post-grad, grad and college all the way down through the primary grades, have now turned to remote classes and e-learning, most of us are facing a daunting social experiment in vigorous online applications in work and education, while at the same time, more interestingly, being thrust into the trials of rigorous self-guided self-supervised management of time and restricted-space sharing! Because we are three-quarters of the way through our own in-depth bible study, Lorraine and I feel strongly that we should continue some means of weekly conferencing and thought-sharing in order to keep the study going. 

Yesterday, we tested out Zoom video conferencing across several different devices (thank you, Mandy and Maryann for your time and help!). We ran it across cell phone, iPad, PC and Mac--and it actually worked very well! From what I understand, we can also record our conference so that invited members who couldn't attend can watch/listen at a more convenient time as well.

So! Here's what we propose:

-SET ASIDE time throughout your day (it doesn't have to be much!) to give over to dedicated scripture study and prayer. We cannot emphasize how important this is during this time of worldly trial and testing! Every moment you give over to sitting at the feet of Christ will strengthen you and encourage your soul, filling you with the courage to remain steadfast and steady in your minute to minute encounters with life, love and "loss"! Amen? AMEN!

-Do your homework as best you can throughout the week.  

 Give priority as follows: 

(1) READ through the questions to see what Scripture to focus upon

(2) READ the assigned passages

(3) ANSWER the questions

(4) LOOK at the answers given at the back of the book

 

-IF you can at all manage it, please WATCH the DVD session anytime BEFORE class starts. 

-JOIN us on Wednesday mornings via Zoom:

9am-10am (corresponding with the WMC online schedule): View DVD on your own if you haven't already done so.

10:15am-11:15am: JOIN in via Zoom for audio/video conferencing

 (As usual, we will "gather" for discussion of the main points, concepts and questions that have come up from the week's readings and questions)

I will send a separate email with instructions on how to access Zoom. 

Ok, ladies--here we are diving into the cyber-age with both feet! Praying we will stick that landing!! I AM BELIEVING!!

Let us know how you are doing, ok? Watch for little miracles happening in the every day moments with your tribe...and don't forget to reach out to the ones who have no one to call "tribe".  WE are church--and we ARE Jesus's hands and feet today!

love

maggie

Anticipating

and now??? Just finished watching the last 12 minutes of the video (thank you Maggie) I had forgotten ...lots of reactions...but I’ll wait for our fearless leaders to begin...Blessing all of you, in real time or not...I’m thrilled, because my oppressive fear blanket was lifted this morning...it’s so damaging...and I’m going to have a phone confession with my dear priest friend at Seton Hall...I need all the grace I can get...he’s a very wise, brilliant and loving, loving man...i can’t tell you how many times he showed up at Kessler or the nursing home when I was in the most need ...and apparently he was in the ICU 4 times a week!!! I’m loved...”be of love a little more careful then of everything” e.e.cummings - how us high schoolers thought we found a gem when we found e.e. Cummings!

Good Morning!

I just finished watching the Maccabean revolt session online.  Not sure exactly our format for this week, but I didn’t know if people were going to start at 9:30am and watch the session online and then we “talk” about it at 10:30?  But I will start a blog question now – which will be - - 

What was your takeaway for this week?    Also – check out the couple of blog entries from Maryann and Mandy.

Lorraine

Reflections on Session 17, question number 3

All right ladies and gentlemen, I can see and hear it now. Lorraine will be reminding me that we have to look at the whole picture, Mandy across the tables from me will be preparing a counterpoint, and Maggie will have her head down turning the pages of scripture seeking something...that always results in a succint re-interpretation/rebuttal of all of my misunderstandings.

So you asked that we blog about this. But in the last 20 minutes of studying here’s where my brain has been going - and this is only on one question!

Our friends Jeff, Sarah and Tim ask:

#3. How do you explain the victories Maccabeus and his family over far greater armies? What is their attitude and motivation? (See 1 Maccabees 3,4.)

So I find, “and they carried on Israel’s war joyfully. (1M 3:2)” Really? Joyfully - blood and guts and maiming - joyfully —- ahh, but hang on Maryann, you are not seeing the whole picture!

“...and those who troubled his people, he destroyed by fire.” 1 M 5 ...now that’s hideous - I witnessed the Seton Hall fire and its aftermath...hideous...

“...for victory in war does not depend upon the size of the army, but in the strength that comes from heaven.” Oh my, I hear Bob Dylan singing to my teen age self, “With God on Our Side.” 

Poor God. We kill each other in His name...I have been looking forward to the reprieve of the New Testament and Jesus teaching a different way, since certainly we don’t do this anymore...then I remember 6 genocides, one group exterminating the other in God’s name, or the name of purity or some such thing: 1915/1916 - the Armenian genocide 1,000,000 people killed (which Turkey still does not acknowledge); 1939-1945 - the Holocust (6,000,000 killed); 1975-1979 - Cambodia (2,000,000 people); 1987-1988 -destruction of the Kurds in Northern Iraq (100,000 people); 1992-1995 - Bosnia (200,000); 1994 - Rawanda (800,000 in100 days).

Sickening, each one “justified.”

And then I remember. The last two years of my chaplaincy at Overlook - end of life patients ...I remembered being so humbled, over and over, as I would ask a patient - in their 70,s, 80,s, 90’s - what did they want to pray for that day. “Peace, world peace.” Not their health, families, but world peace.

They knew our foolishness.

And so does He.

And ladies, that’s what I go through on just one question! What am I going to do without you? You have marked my every Wednesday since I moved here. You got me through some really lonely and tough spots, through an excruciating 40 days way before Lent began...

But now?

Back to finishing #3 - and PS there is some beautiful poetry in there...

Hope, hope, He is forgiveness and mercy, kindness...thanks for your patience with me.