Sabbatical Kicks in Another Gear

As I write this, I am sitting in my sister-in-law's beautiful home in Edinburgh, Scotland! We arrived this morning (which was really last night our time) with no serious hiccups. The airport fire department did actually surround our plane here upon arrival because they thought our landing gear was on fire, but that was merely precautionary. It was admittedly exciting to see all the fire trucks, though!

The past week has been full of ending the school year for the Coons Family. We celebrated Julia's 8th grade graduation last week where she was given awards for having a 4.0 throughout the year and the English Award for being the top English student this year. We are so proud of her and can't believe she's on to Chico High in the fall! The other kids also finished the school year, as did Emily. Not only did Em finish the teaching year, but also completed her coursework for her Special Education certification from Chico State. Now it is finally her turn to get some rest and have her sabbatical, too!

Prior to leaving town, we spent some great time with family and friends, celebrating birthdays, fishing and eating great food. Emily and I got away for a romantic getaway to the Diamond Hotel for a night to celebrate the end of her school year. What a great place right in the middle of downtown Chico! We felt miles away from reality, though we were only 3 miles from home.

So now sabbatical kicks into another gear as we begin the European leg of our time. We managed to bookend our time here in Europe with two important events: the much anticipated U2 concert on the way here and the even more anticipated final Harry Potter movie on the way home. You can't say we don't have our priorities straight!

U2 was...well...amazing as usual. I've seen them numerous times and they continue to feed my soul. There is always a point in their shows where the rock concert transforms into a worship service. That happened again Tuesday night as they played, "Where the Streets Have No Name." It's a song dreaming of the new heaven and earth, where there is "no sorrow, no shame..." As hands shot into the air, people were transported into that "thin place" where heaven and earth meet. What's so great is that I'm certain the majority of the concert-goers are unaware they are being ushered into the presence of the Almighty, yet there we were: 50,000 of us singing in one voice a prayer that Jesus taught, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven." Chills ran up and down my spine as tears formed in the corners of my eyes. Emily, who was sitting across the stadium with some friends and Eliza Kate, sent me a text that simply said, "Wow."

Wow, indeed. I went to a U2 concert to see a band, but I got God instead.

I love sabbatical.

Now that we're in Scotland, we'll spend some time getting over our jet-lag and getting prepared for our week on the Isle of Iona. We will leave the kiddos here in Edinburgh with Emily's sister as Emily and I participate in a communal living experience at the Abbey on Iona, the center for Celtic Spirituality. We'll be there 5 days simply being and experiencing all that God has for us.

I'm finding it best to drop whatever agendas I have and simply stand open-handed before God with this gift of time we've been given. There is a kind of peace and openness that comes with going with the ebb and flow, with the rhythms of rest. Mostly, though, I am grateful for this time and for all the receipts I get to turn in that will be covered by the Louisville Institute! There is a sense of freedom in living that I have longed to know for the past 2 years. It is good to finally be here.

Until later,
Jim

A Great Week in the Lowcountry

My week in South Carolina is coming to a close, and it has been great. We peaked yesterday as we played on the beach, swam in the ocean, and had a great dinner at on Bowen Island in the middle of the salt marshes here in what they call the "Lowcountry" in South Carolina. We had fried oysters, shrimp and some cold brews.

Each day we began by reading and drinking coffee, spending time in prayer and scripture. About noontime each day we headed to the beach to surf, read, and take in the sea and sand. My reading focused on 1 and 2 Kings and Life With God by Richard Foster. My takeaways from Kings is just how crazy the Israelites were to ask for kings! The just wouldn't realize that God was their King! But they tried and tried and tried, but to no avail. It was a bit like reading a history of my own life! How many times have I tried to be my own king, or make something else my king while not realizing that God is right here in front of me saying, "Helllooo!!! Hey Jim, over here!" Ah, Lord, forgive me!

Life With God is a rich, deep read about how God has sought us out first to be with us, primarily known through scripture. And the question remains, "Will we be with God?"

As I fly home tomorrow, I will remember this time of checking in with Todd and Brian, praying deeply for one another, crying, laughing so hard we cried, eating great food, watching MMA (Mixed Martial Arts...very manly!), getting a little sun-burned, resting deeply, and enjoying just being. What a tremendous gift from God!

I'm looking forward to heading home to be with my family, and getting ready for Julia's 8th grade graduation this coming week.

God is good!

A Day On The Water

The 3 Amigos (Todd, Brian, and me) spent the day on the inlets of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina fishing for Redfish, Sea Trout, Flounder, and yes...SHARK. We saw several Bonnethead Sharks, but couldn't hook one. We did, however, catch a few Redfish (see photo of Todd and me), and some baitfish (see photo of Brian). All in all, it was a great day of seeing the inner banks of the Carolinas, enjoying friendship, and decompressing.

I'm finding that as much as I need a break from work, I'm starting to miss it, especially those I work with and those I work among. It's going to be challenging to let go and really rest. I know I need to, but I'm so accustomed to interacting with my co-workers and church that I'm finding it difficult to not check in. Pray that I can really let go, really relax, and be available to God's voice.

I've been reading 1 Kings and just today read about when Elijah heard God's voice in the whisper. I have a hunch that word is for me. I need to come out and listen to God's voice in the whispers. That means, however, that I need to learn to be quiet. Hmmm...glad I have 3 months to do this!

Folly Beach

Well, Sabbatical has officially begun! It's hard to believe that after 2 years of waiting, it is finally here. One feeling has overcome me: tired. I rarely sleep on airplanes, but that's all I did as I flew across the country yesterday to South Carolina. Sleep, sleep and more sleep. I have a feeling that may be one of the main themes this week.

I am staying in a little beach town called Folly Beach, South Carolina just outside of Charleston. I'm here with Todd Holdridge and Brian Morgan, friends from Fuller Seminary days. These boys have been God's grace to me throughout the past 12 years. We have laughed, cried, celebrated, and mourned together in the deepest of ways. It is so good to be with them again.

We started our day reading Celtic Devotions by Calvin Miller. The first day is all about how Jesus Christ is at the center of everything: all of creation, all of our lives. What a wonderful reminder as we head out to the beach today: all things are created by him and for him. All friendship, all beauty, all waves, all birds, all of life by Jesus.

Here is the opening prayer for this day:
It were as easy for Jesu
To renew the withered tree
As to wither the new
Were it His will so to do
Jesu! Jesu! Jesu!
Jesu! meet it were to praise Him.

There is no plant in the ground
But is full of His virtue,
There is no form in the strand
But is full of His blessing.
Jesu! Jesu! Jesu!
Jesu! meet it were to praise Him.

There is no life in the sea,
There is no creature in the river,
There is naught in the firmament,
But proclaims His goodness.
Jesu! Jesu! Jesu!
Jesu! meet it were to praise Him.

There is no bird on the wing,
There is no star in the sky,
There is nothing beneath the sun,
But proclaims His goodness.
Jesu! Jesu! Jesu!
Jesu! meet it were to praise Him.

-Carmina Gadelica

My you find Christ at the center of all you do and are today.

T-Minus 7 Days and Counting!

In 7 days I will embark on the journey that I've been awaiting for 2 years. I can't begin to tell you how grateful and excited I am that I am allowed to take 11 weeks to rest, renew, and listen for God's heartbeat.

I am finding it difficult staying fully engaged in life and ministry this week. I have "sabbatical-itis" something fierce! That's not to say that I don't like ministry or anything of the sort, it's just that I've been waiting for this summer for 2 years. I realized the other day that I haven't had a real vacation in I don't know how long. Maybe over a year??? I had bereavement time last summer, and I had time off for surgery in December, but that's about it. I have a feeling that the first few weeks will be a sort of detox, catching up on sleep, and disengaging from the pace of life that I've known for the past months.

As I prepare, I'm starting to ask the question about what "sabbatical" can look like here and now. That is one of the reasons Celtic spirituality is attractive to me. As I understand it, the Celts practiced a spiritual life that was in pace with the earth, with the day-t0-day living and working and being. One of my hopes is that learning the rhythms of rest modeled by the Celts will teach me to rest once I'm not on sabbatical any more.

So my prayer is that God guides me to deeper wisdom of rest, of space, of rhythm so my life reflects sabbath when sabbatical is 2 or more years away again (but let's not get ahead of ourselves to quickly, right?)

Peace!

Jim

The Closeness of Heaven's Company

Throughout my sabbatical, I will be immersing myself in Celtic Spirituality. This form of spirituality has its home in the Britons, especially on the little island communities off the cost of Scotland, as well as in Ireland. The most famous Celtic spiritualist, of course, was St.Patrick, the great missionary who freed slaves in Ireland in the 5th century.

I'm sure to learn lots about the ways of the Celts and how they approach and view God, but something that is attracting me, initially, is the rhythm and discipline of looking for and finding God in his creation. I have to issue myself, and you all a warning here- God is NOT his creation, but evidence and presence of God can be found through the witness of creation (see Romans 1:19, Psalm 19:1). I admit, this is a bit of a stretch for me theologically because I have been taught and led to believe (and do believe firmly) that God has made himself known through his incarnate Word, his Son, Jesus Christ. So any time I hear that God can be known apart from his self-revelation in Christ, my theological radar goes up and I listen carefully.

All that being said, I am finding Celtic spirituality refreshing because it speaks to finding God's present all around me, in the day to day, in my observances and relationships. Here is a well-known hymn by Patrick that I found helpful and enlightening:

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

In his seminal work, Listening for the Heartbeat of God, J. Philip Newell goes on to explain Celtic spirituality by saying,

"There is not in the Celtic way of seeing a great gap between heaven and earth. Rather, the two are seen as inseparably intertwined. Mary, for instance, loved with a homely tenderness of affection, is portrayed not as a Queen of Heaven, remote from humanity, but as a barefooted country girl out among the cattle in immediate contact with the concerns and delights of daily life. Peter is perceived not as an exalted ecclesiastic but as a simple fisherman, experienced in the ways of the sea, present to guide and to guard, and Christ, as King of the Elements, is not regarded as a distant regal figure but more in terms of the Celtic king, chief of the tribe who is known to his people and close to them. The Christ who is above the morning sun is the Christ who is beneath them in the dark fertility of the earth. The Christ who is with his people in the quiet calm of a windless sea is with them too in the midst of the wild wintry storm. The Christ who is within, at the very centre of their soul, is the Christ who is to be looked for in friend and stranger, Christ at the heart of all life." (p.26)

How am I tuning in to Christ's presence this day? How am I seeking him in relationships, in his creation, in his simple beauty? Is God present even in the difficult moments? I'm aware, as this day begins, that I will yet again find myself lying on a CT Scanner, that Table of Truth, where all will be revealed about my body. Is Christ to be found there, too? Of course, yes. Will I acknowledge him, open myself to him, and allow him to find me there? That, I think, is the true question.

Christ be with you.

Life With God

The first week of Sabbatical 2011, I will be spending time with my two best buddies from Fuller Seminary, Brian and Todd. Brian is a pastor at an Episcopal Church in Mt. Pleasant, SC near Charleston. Todd is a pastor at a Presbyterian Church in Seattle, WA on Queen Anne Hill. We have been through much together and talk weekly for accountability, support, laughs, and lots and lots of prayer. Our yearly times together are so rich and meaningful.

This year we will gather at a beach house in Folly Beach, SC. Our time will be spent checking in at the deepest of levels, surfing, fishing, sharing good meals (anyone know what "she-crab soup" is?), and reading 2 books. I'm currently making my way through them now.

The first is "Listening for the Heartbeat of God: a Celtic Spirituality" by Philip Newell. The second is called, "Life With God: Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation" by Richard Foster.

As I was reading the latter the other day, something caught my attention that was so helpful. As a church, Bidwell Presbyterian is known mostly for our focus and practice of God's grace. We love grace, don't we! We talk it. We live it. We relish in God's unmerited favor! Sometimes, though, I secretly wonder if we take it too far. When, if ever, are we responsible to apply our effort toward the spiritual life? If it's all about grace, what role do we play as Christians?

Foster addresses this beautifully in Life With God:

"It is vitally important for us to see all this spiritual training in the context of the work and action of God's grace. As the great Apostle reminds us, "it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). This, you see, is no "works righteousness," as it is sometimes called. Even our desiring of this with-God kind of life is an action of grace; it is "prevenient grace," say the theologians. You see, we are not just saved by grace; we live by grace. And we pray by grace and fast by grace and study by grace and serve by grace and worship by grace. All the Disciplines are permeated by the enabling grace of God.

But do not misunderstand; there are things for us to do. Daily. Grace never means inaction or total passivity. In ordinary life we will encounter multiple moments of decision where we must engage the will saying, "Yes!" to God's will and to God's way as the People of God have been challenged throughout history. The opposite of grace is works, but not effort."

We are saved by God's grace. We live by God's grace. But we make effort in the spiritual life to grow in God's grace and to share God's grace with others. God is on the hook for salvation. We are on the hook to "work out" that salvation with "fear and trembling" (Phil.2:12).

May God's grace find you afresh today; and may your effort be to grow in that grace deeply today as well.

Peace!