Love Boldly!
Life is unpredictable isn't it?
It throws us a lot of turbulence; sometimes, when we least expect it or want it.
So how do we cut through this cloud of doubt and despair we sometimes feel?
LOVE BOLDLY!
Before you run away and roll your eyes at my cheesy answer and start thinking that I sound like Dilila...let me explain!
To LOVE BOLDLY is NOT an easy task. It is something that requires courage, stamina, and risk-taking!
If you have seen the movie, Night at the Museum 2, you know this scene: Jedediah is put into a time keeper by King Kahmunrah. The sand begins pouring over his head, filling up the bottom of the tube. king Kahmunrah tells Larry Daley (AKA Ben Stiller) that he has one hour to figure out the code of the tablet or the sand will fill up the tube and Jedediah will die. Larry instantly realizes the urgency of this situation and feels the weight of his friend's life on his shoulders!!! He becomes incredibly freightened! Jedediah, from inside the tube sees his friend overcome with worry and yells out at the top of his lungs, "You got this Larry! I believe in you!"
There he was, facing possible death, and he offered to his friend, just what his friend needed: a vote of confidence, a reassuring smile, an affirmation that they were in it together.
When was the last time you offered that type of confidence to someone?
Letting him or her know in the biggest way possible, that YOU believe in THEM?
That the 2 of you, if you go down, are going down TOGETHER
THAT is LOVING BOLDLY!
We have all heard the phrase, "Do what scares you." But how often do we actually do what scares us? How often do we actually break out of our daily routines? Are you willing to do what scares you?
So what does it look like when people start loving boldly? I told you about what it looked like at a fake Hollywood museum. But here is what I think loving boldly would look like in real-life Binghamton:
There would be a group of people who open doors when others shut them.
There would be a group of people offering kind words, smiles, and friendly gestures to strangers when others simply walk by.
There would be a group of people gathering for flash mobs, adopting families, soup kitchens, book studies, fixing up old buildings, dog walks, adopting college students...a group of people "doing" church without being held back by expectations, traditions, cynical outsiders, four walls, or a limited budget.
THAT is a group of people loving boldly through limited funding, a recessed economy and leadership that has no clue what she is doing sometimes (yes, that would be ME).
Grace Adventure is catching a ride on the Holy Spirit's wave into the unknown.
We are going boldly.
We MUST go boldly in 2010 in Binghamton so people don't loose hope. So people do not loose one another. And so people don't loose sight of our big, gracious, loving God.
I believe we are brought face to face with moments that will define us, scare us, and/or break us throughout our life. Its up to us to decide how to go forward in these moments. We can grow from these moments; we can shape and mold ourselves into the person we are always hoping we can become.
You are not along. You have each other and you have God. God believes in you...more than you'll ever know...mroe than you'll ever imagine!
So may you draw strength and courage from this gathering to go forth into the world loving boldly. May you carry a strong sense of peace and a bold kind of love.
~Amen.
It throws us a lot of turbulence; sometimes, when we least expect it or want it.
So how do we cut through this cloud of doubt and despair we sometimes feel?
LOVE BOLDLY!
Before you run away and roll your eyes at my cheesy answer and start thinking that I sound like Dilila...let me explain!
To LOVE BOLDLY is NOT an easy task. It is something that requires courage, stamina, and risk-taking!
If you have seen the movie, Night at the Museum 2, you know this scene: Jedediah is put into a time keeper by King Kahmunrah. The sand begins pouring over his head, filling up the bottom of the tube. king Kahmunrah tells Larry Daley (AKA Ben Stiller) that he has one hour to figure out the code of the tablet or the sand will fill up the tube and Jedediah will die. Larry instantly realizes the urgency of this situation and feels the weight of his friend's life on his shoulders!!! He becomes incredibly freightened! Jedediah, from inside the tube sees his friend overcome with worry and yells out at the top of his lungs, "You got this Larry! I believe in you!"
There he was, facing possible death, and he offered to his friend, just what his friend needed: a vote of confidence, a reassuring smile, an affirmation that they were in it together.
When was the last time you offered that type of confidence to someone?
Letting him or her know in the biggest way possible, that YOU believe in THEM?
That the 2 of you, if you go down, are going down TOGETHER
THAT is LOVING BOLDLY!
We have all heard the phrase, "Do what scares you." But how often do we actually do what scares us? How often do we actually break out of our daily routines? Are you willing to do what scares you?
So what does it look like when people start loving boldly? I told you about what it looked like at a fake Hollywood museum. But here is what I think loving boldly would look like in real-life Binghamton:
There would be a group of people who open doors when others shut them.
There would be a group of people offering kind words, smiles, and friendly gestures to strangers when others simply walk by.
There would be a group of people gathering for flash mobs, adopting families, soup kitchens, book studies, fixing up old buildings, dog walks, adopting college students...a group of people "doing" church without being held back by expectations, traditions, cynical outsiders, four walls, or a limited budget.
THAT is a group of people loving boldly through limited funding, a recessed economy and leadership that has no clue what she is doing sometimes (yes, that would be ME).
Grace Adventure is catching a ride on the Holy Spirit's wave into the unknown.
We are going boldly.
We MUST go boldly in 2010 in Binghamton so people don't loose hope. So people do not loose one another. And so people don't loose sight of our big, gracious, loving God.
I believe we are brought face to face with moments that will define us, scare us, and/or break us throughout our life. Its up to us to decide how to go forward in these moments. We can grow from these moments; we can shape and mold ourselves into the person we are always hoping we can become.
You are not along. You have each other and you have God. God believes in you...more than you'll ever know...mroe than you'll ever imagine!
So may you draw strength and courage from this gathering to go forth into the world loving boldly. May you carry a strong sense of peace and a bold kind of love.
~Amen.
Brilliant! Wish I had been there.
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