Yesterday a friend tagged me in a post that contained a call to action, amid the demonstrations that have erupted after George Floyd's murder. It's the #AmplifyMelanated Voices Challenge. And it's important. I'll admit, I had to look up "BIPOC." How about you? It means "black, indigenous, and people of color," as Mahreen Ansari explains in this post. I hadn't heard of this challenge, but I'm taking it. So I'm muting myself in this post, except to say I'm posting a few links in this post and will add to them through this week, and perhaps beyond. Next week, we'll talk some about all … [Read more...] about #AmplifyMelanatedVoices Challenge
How to Be with Someone Who’s Weeping
Three words: Just. Be. There. You can stop reading now, because that's what I'm going to tell you for the rest of this post. Just be there. The rest will take care of itself. If you're still reading, put this down for a minute and grab (find?) your Bible so you can read the first two chapters of Job. (Rhymes with "robe.") Pay special attention to the last three verses of chapter 2. Go ahead; I'll wait for you.... (If you don't know the story, and in case you don't pause to look it up, you should know Job was a wealthy man who loses everything in those two chapters. Servants and … [Read more...] about How to Be with Someone Who’s Weeping
Ten Reasons You Don’t Want to Help (But Might Anyway)
When her friend encouraged Edna to open the door to a stranger, against Edna's better judgment, that friend said, "They might be in need of help." The friend evidently thinks this will encourage Edna's favorable response. But will it? We don't know what Edna said next, but I can think of a bunch of reasons those words might not encourage Edna to open the door! I said we'd consider that question this week. It turns out there are a lot of reasons we might not want to help another human being! Here are ten: It might not be safe. When we try to help, we might open ourselves up to a … [Read more...] about Ten Reasons You Don’t Want to Help (But Might Anyway)
The “Giant, Hideous Insects” All Around Us
A couple of weeks ago I posted a cartoon and a practice invitation for you to think through the ways we jump to conclusions about people, and what would happen if we reframed our perspectives. Here's the cartoon that prompted that post: I was picturing you telling stories like this one of mine, about the time I rounded a corner in an office building, late at night, thinking I was alone, and found myself nose-to-nose with a woman I didn't expect to be there. She was short, and had dark, wild hair, and she didn't expect me, either. I was so startled that I grabbed her shoulders and … [Read more...] about The “Giant, Hideous Insects” All Around Us
Lives That Count
We'll return to last week's "Reframing" focus and Practicing Foolishness prompt next week. It's not too late to share your responses! Do you find your eyes glazing over yet when the COVID-19 case counts get announced? Every day a bunch of numbers get shared by news conference and online sources, with dozens of shares on social media and e-mail. This many new infections. This many hospitalized. This many who have died in the last twenty-four hours. The numbers for our state, and for the nation as a whole, and maybe some specific hotspots where the numbers deserve some special … [Read more...] about Lives That Count
Reframing (and an April/May practice invitation)
What if a giant, hideous insect shows up at our door? Or at our church? or business? (Or, in this time of social distancing, on the sidewalk.) What do we assume about why they're there, and what they want, and what we should do about it? Our gut reaction, most of the time, will be to get away. We are wired that way. We make quick assumptions about what's threatening and we do what's necessary to protect ourselves. We barely process why we reacted as we did. I love, in this old Far Side comic, how Edna's friend doesn't jump to the conclusion that the giant, hideous insect is dangerous. … [Read more...] about Reframing (and an April/May practice invitation)